The Reasons Behind the National Passport Is Falling in Global Ranking

In recent months, an online clip from a popular travel content creator expressing frustration over the limited power of the Indian passport gained massive traction across digital platforms.

He mentioned although neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan offered easier access to Indian tourists, securing travel permits to travel to most Western and European countries continued to be difficult.

Such concerns with India's poor passport strength found confirmation in recent Henley Passport Index, ranking the country in the 85th spot among 199 countries, five spots lower than last year.

The Indian government have not issued a statement on the report yet.

Countries like Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size than India – a nation that is the world's fifth biggest economy – hold better positions in the ranking in the seventies range, in that order.

In fact, India's rank in the past decade has hovered in the 80s, even dipping to the 90th spot in 2021. These rankings appear poor when measured against Asian nations such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore, which have consistently held leading ranks.

What Passport Strength Measures

Passport strength reflects a country's global influence and international standing. This leads to enhanced travel freedom for passport holders, improving commercial and educational prospects. A weak passport means more paperwork, increased visa expenses, reduced travel benefits and longer waiting times for travel.

But despite the drop in position, the count of nations offering visa-free access to Indians has grown over the last ten years.

As an instance, eight years ago – when the current administration's ruling party assumed office – fifty-two nations provided visa-free access for Indian passport holders with the passport at seventy-sixth position in the ranking.

The following year, it tumbled to eighty-fifth place, then rose to eightieth in 2023 and 2024, declining once more to the eighty-fifth spot this year. At the same time, visa-free destinations to Indian citizens increased from 52 in 2015 to sixty last year and 62 in 2024.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The count of visa-free destinations in 2025 (fifty-seven) exceeds the number in 2015 (fifty-two), yet India's rank for both these years remains at eighty-fifth. So, why is that?

Experts say that a major reason involves growing competition in global mobility – indicating that countries are forming more travel partnerships to benefit their citizens and their economies. As per a 2025 report, the worldwide mean count of countries travellers are able to access visa-free has nearly doubled from 58 in 2006 to 109 in 2025.

For example, China has expanded the number of visa-free destinations available to its citizens from fifty to eighty-two over the last ten years. As a result, its position on the index has improved from 94th to 60th during the same time period.

In comparison, The Indian passport – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place during summer – fell to the 85th position in October following the loss of two nations.

Other Influences Affecting Passport Strength

An ex-diplomat from India notes there are other factors influencing a nation's passport power, including economic and political conditions plus its receptiveness to accepting travelers from other countries.

For instance, the American passport has dropped out from the top ten and now occupies twelfth place – its lowest ever – because of its increasingly insular stance in global affairs.

The diplomat mentioned that during the seventies, Indian citizens had visa-free access to many Western and European countries, but that changed after the Khalistan movement during the eighties. Later political disturbances have continued to damage at India's image as a stable, democratic country.

"Many countries are also becoming more cautious regarding migrants," he stated. "The country possesses a large quantity of people migrating overseas or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the national image."

Factors like the security level of a national passport and immigration processes also play a role in gaining visa-free entry to foreign nations.

Security and Technological Improvements

The Indian passport remains vulnerable to security threats. Last year, law enforcement arrested over two hundred individuals for suspected visa and passport fraud. India is also known for complex immigration processes and a slow pace of visa processing.

The former ambassador says that new technologies, such as the newly introduced digital passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and streamline immigration. The e-passport contains a small chip holding biometric data, increasing difficulty to forge or tamper with the passport.

But, more diplomatic outreach and travel partnerships remain key to boosting international travel freedom of Indians and, by extension, India's passport ranking.