The Reasons Behind India's Indian Passport Continues to Drop in Worldwide Standing

In recent months, a video by a popular travel content creator complaining about India's weak passport went viral on social media.

He mentioned that while nearby nations like Bhutan and Sri Lanka were more welcoming to travelers from India, obtaining visas for visiting many nations in Europe and the West remained a challenge.

Such concerns regarding India's poor passport strength found confirmation in the latest global passport ranking, which placed the country in the 85th spot out of nearly two hundred nations, five spots lower than last year.

The Indian government has not commented regarding these findings yet.

Nations including Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size than India – which is the fifth-largest economy globally – hold better positions on the index at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, respectively.

Actually, India's rank in the past decade has hovered around the eighties, falling to ninetieth place two years ago. Such standings are dismal when measured against other Asian countries such as Singapore, Japan and South Korea, which have consistently held leading ranks.

Global Passport Power Indicates

The power of a passport reflects a nation's soft power and global influence. It also translates into enhanced travel freedom for passport holders, boosting business and educational prospects. Limited passport power results in more paperwork, higher visa costs, fewer travel privileges and extended processing periods for travel.

But despite the decline in the rank, the count of nations providing visa-free travel to Indians has actually increased in the past decade or so.

For example, in 2014 – when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party came to power – 52 countries offered visa-free access for Indian passport holders and its passport at seventy-sixth position on the index.

A year later, it fell to eighty-fifth place, then rose to eightieth in 2023 and 2024, declining once more to the 85th position currently. At the same time, visa-free destinations to Indian citizens increased from fifty-two eight years ago to 60 in 2023 and sixty-two this year.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The count of visa-free destinations in 2025 (fifty-seven) is higher than the number eight years ago (52), but the country's position for both these years is 85. So, why is that?

Experts say that a primary factor is the increasingly competitive landscape in global mobility – indicating that nations are forming more travel partnerships for their populations' advantage and their economies. According to recent analysis, the global average number of destinations people can visit without visas has almost doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to 109 in 2025.

For example, China has expanded the number of visa-free destinations its citizens can travel to from 50 to 82 over the last ten years. As a result, its position in the ranking has improved from ninety-fourth to sixtieth during the same time period.

Meanwhile, India – which was ranked 77th on the index in July – dropped to the 85th position this autumn after losing access of two nations.

Other Influences Impacting Passport Power

An ex-diplomat from India notes there are other factors that affect the strength of a country's passport, including its economic and political stability plus its openness to welcoming citizens from other countries.

For instance, the American passport has fallen of the top 10 and now occupies the 12th position – its lowest ever – due to its increasingly insular stance in global affairs.

The diplomat recalls how in the 1970s, Indians enjoyed visa-free access to numerous European and Western nations, though this shifted following Sikh separatist movement during the eighties. Subsequent political upheavals have further chipped away the country's reputation as a stable, democratic country.

"Numerous nations are growing increasingly wary of immigrants," he stated. "India has a large quantity of citizens emigrating overseas or overstaying their visas affecting the country's reputation."

Elements such as the security level of a national passport and immigration processes also contribute to obtaining visa-free access to other countries.

Security and Technological Improvements

India's passport faces ongoing security risks. Last year, authorities arrested over two hundred individuals for alleged passport and visa irregularities. India is also known for cumbersome immigration procedures with lengthy timelines of visa processing.

The former ambassador indicated that technological advances, such as the newly introduced digital passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and streamline immigration. This electronic document includes a small chip that stores biometric data, increasing difficulty to forge or tamper with the document.

However, more diplomatic outreach and travel agreements continue essential to boosting international travel freedom for Indian citizens and, by extension, the Indian passport's global position.