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Earlier this year, a video from a popular travel content creator complaining about the limited power of the Indian passport gained massive traction across digital platforms.

The influencer stated that while neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka and Bhutan were more welcoming of travelers from India, 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 the latest Henley Passport Index, ranking India in the 85th spot out of nearly two hundred nations, five spots lower compared to the previous year.

Officials in India have not issued a statement regarding these findings so far.

Countries including Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size than India – a nation that is the fifth-largest economy globally – are ranked higher on the index in the seventies range, in that order.

Actually, the country's position in the past decade has hovered in the 80s, even dipping to the 90th spot two years ago. These rankings appear poor compared to Asian nations like Japan, South Korea and Singapore, all maintaining leading ranks.

Global Passport Power Indicates

The power of a passport reflects a nation's soft power and international standing. It also translates into better mobility for passport holders, boosting business and learning opportunities. A weak passport results in additional documentation, higher visa costs, fewer travel privileges and extended processing periods for travel.

However, even with the decline in the rank, the number of countries providing visa-free travel for Indian citizens has grown in the past decade or so.

As an instance, in 2014 – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumed office – fifty-two nations offered visa-free travel to Indians with the passport ranked 76th on the index.

A year later, it fell to the 85th position, then rose to eightieth over the past two years, declining once more to the 85th position currently. At the same time, countries allowing visa-free travel for Indians grew from 52 in 2015 to sixty last year and sixty-two this year.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The number of visa-free destinations this year (fifty-seven) is higher than what it was eight years ago (fifty-two), yet India's rank for both these years remains at eighty-fifth. What explains this situation?

Analysts note that a primary factor involves growing competition in global mobility – indicating that countries are entering into more travel partnerships to benefit their citizens and economic growth. As per recent analysis, the worldwide mean count of countries people can visit without visas has almost doubled from 58 in 2006 to one hundred nine currently.

As an illustration, China has expanded the number of visa-free destinations available to its citizens from 50 to 82 in the past decade. As a result, its position in the ranking has enhanced from ninety-fourth to sixtieth during the same time period.

Meanwhile, India – previously positioned 77th on the index during summer – dropped to eighty-fifth place in October after losing access to two countries.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

A former Indian ambassador notes multiple elements influencing the strength of a country's passport, like its economic and political stability plus its openness to welcoming citizens from other countries.

For instance, the American passport has dropped out from the top ten currently holding twelfth place – a historic low – because of its increasingly insular stance in global affairs.

The former ambassador recalls that during the seventies, Indians enjoyed visa-free travel to numerous European and Western nations, but that changed after the Khalistan movement in the 1980s. Subsequent political upheavals have continued to damage at India's image as a stable democracy.

"Numerous nations are growing increasingly wary regarding migrants," the diplomat added. "The country possesses a high number 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 its immigration procedures also play a role in gaining visa-free access to foreign nations.

Security and Technological Improvements

The Indian passport faces ongoing security threats. In 2024, law enforcement arrested 203 people for alleged passport and visa irregularities. The country also has cumbersome immigration procedures with lengthy timelines for visa approvals.

The former ambassador indicated that technological advances, such as the newly introduced digital passport or e-passport, can improve security and streamline immigration. This electronic document contains a small chip that stores biometric information, increasing difficulty to counterfeit or alter the document.

However, more diplomatic outreach and travel partnerships remain key for enhancing the global mobility for Indian citizens and, by extension, the Indian passport's global position.