Why India's National Passport Continues to Drop in Worldwide Standing

In recent months, a video from an Indian travel influencer complaining about India's weak passport went viral across digital platforms.

The influencer stated although neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan were more welcoming of travelers from India, securing travel permits for visiting many nations in Europe and the West continued to be difficult.

Such concerns regarding the limited global access of Indian passports was reflected in recent global passport ranking, which placed the country at position eighty-five out of nearly two hundred nations, five spots lower than last year.

Officials in India have not issued a statement on the report so far.

Nations including Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies compared to India – which is the fifth-largest economy globally – are ranked higher in the ranking in the seventies range, respectively.

Actually, India's rank in the past decade has remained in the 80s, falling to ninetieth place in 2021. These rankings appear poor compared to other Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore, which have consistently held leading ranks.

What Passport Strength Indicates

The power of a passport indicates a nation's soft power and international standing. It also translates into better mobility for its citizens, improving commercial and learning opportunities. Limited passport power results in additional documentation, increased visa expenses, fewer travel privileges and extended processing periods when journeying.

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

As an instance, eight years ago – the year the current administration's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – fifty-two nations provided visa-free travel to Indians with the passport ranked 76th on the index.

The following year, it tumbled to eighty-fifth place, then improved to 80th in 2023 and 2024, declining once more to the eighty-fifth spot this year. At the same time, countries allowing visa-free travel to Indian citizens grew from fifty-two eight years ago to sixty last year and 62 in 2024.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The number of nations allowing visa-free entry in 2025 (57) exceeds the number eight years ago (fifty-two), but India's rank for both these years is 85. So, why is that?

Experts say that a major reason is the increasingly competitive landscape in international travel – meaning countries are forming additional travel agreements for their populations' advantage and economic growth. According to a 2025 report, the global average count of countries people can visit visa-free has almost doubled from 58 in 2006 to 109 in 2025.

For example, The Chinese passport has expanded the number of visa-free countries its citizens can travel to from 50 to 82 in the past decade. As a result, its position on the index has enhanced from 94th to 60th in that same duration.

Meanwhile, India – which was ranked 77th on the index during summer – dropped to eighty-fifth place this autumn after losing access of two nations.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

A former Indian ambassador notes multiple elements influencing a nation's passport power, like economic and political conditions as well as its receptiveness to welcoming citizens from other countries.

For example, the American passport has fallen from the top ten currently holding the 12th position – its lowest ever – because of its increasingly insular stance in world politics.

The diplomat recalls how in the 1970s, Indian citizens had visa-free access to numerous European and Western nations, but that changed following Sikh separatist movement during the eighties. Subsequent political upheavals have continued to damage the country's reputation as a stable democracy.

"Numerous nations are also becoming increasingly wary of immigrants," he stated. "India has a high number of citizens emigrating overseas or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the national image."

Factors such as how secure a country's passport is and immigration processes also contribute to obtaining visa-free access to other countries.

Enhanced Security Measures

India's passport faces ongoing security threats. In 2024, authorities detained over two hundred individuals for alleged visa and passport fraud. The country also has complex immigration processes and a slow pace of visa processing.

The former ambassador indicated that new technologies, like India's recently-launched electronic passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and ease the immigration process. This electronic document includes a small chip that stores biometric information, making it harder to counterfeit or alter the passport.

But, increased diplomatic efforts and travel partnerships continue essential for enhancing the global mobility of Indians and, by extension, India's passport ranking.