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Earlier this year, a video from a popular travel content creator complaining about India's weak passport gained massive traction across digital platforms.

The influencer stated that while neighbouring countries such as Bhutan and Sri Lanka offered easier access of Indian tourists, securing travel permits for visiting most Western and European countries remained a challenge.

This dissatisfaction with India's poor passport strength was reflected in recent global passport ranking, which placed India in the 85th spot among 199 countries, a decline of five positions compared to the previous year.

The Indian government have not issued a statement regarding these findings yet.

Nations including Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size than India – a nation that is the fifth-largest economy globally – hold better positions in the ranking at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, in that order.

Actually, India's rank in the past decade has hovered around the eighties, falling to ninetieth place two years ago. These rankings appear poor compared to other Asian countries like Singapore, Japan and South Korea, all maintaining leading ranks.

Global Passport Power Indicates

The power of a passport indicates a nation's soft power and global influence. This leads to enhanced travel freedom for passport holders, improving commercial and educational prospects. Limited passport power results in additional documentation, higher visa costs, reduced travel benefits and longer waiting times when journeying.

However, even with the decline in the rank, the count of nations providing visa-free travel to Indians has grown in the past decade or so.

For example, 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 ranked 76th in the ranking.

The following year, it fell to the 85th position, then improved to 80th in 2023 and 2024, dropping again to the eighty-fifth spot this year. Meanwhile, visa-free destinations to Indian citizens grew from fifty-two eight years ago to sixty last year and sixty-two this year.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The number of nations allowing visa-free entry this year (57) exceeds the number eight years ago (52), but India's rank for both these years is 85. What explains this situation?

Analysts note that a major reason is the increasingly competitive landscape in international travel – indicating that countries are forming additional travel agreements to benefit their citizens and their economies. As per recent analysis, the global average count of countries people can visit visa-free has almost doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to one hundred nine currently.

For example, The Chinese passport has expanded the number of visa-free countries available to its citizens from fifty to eighty-two in the past decade. As a result, its position on the index has enhanced from ninety-fourth to sixtieth during the same time period.

Meanwhile, India – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place in July – fell to eighty-fifth place in October after losing access of two nations.

Other Influences Impacting Passport Power

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

For example, the US passport has dropped out from the top ten and now occupies twelfth place – a historic low – because of its increasingly insular stance in world politics.

The diplomat mentioned that during the seventies, Indians enjoyed visa-free travel to many Western and European countries, though this shifted following Khalistan movement during the eighties. Subsequent political upheavals have further chipped away the country's reputation as a stable, democratic country.

"Numerous nations are also becoming increasingly wary regarding migrants," the diplomat added. "India has a large quantity of citizens emigrating to other countries or remaining beyond visa limits affecting the national image."

Elements such as the security level a country's passport is and its immigration procedures also contribute to obtaining visa-free access to other countries.

Enhanced Security Measures

The Indian passport remains vulnerable to security risks. In 2024, law enforcement detained over two hundred individuals for suspected visa and passport fraud. India is also known for complex immigration processes with lengthy timelines of visa processing.

The diplomat 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 information, making it harder to counterfeit or alter the passport.

But, increased diplomatic efforts and travel agreements remain key for enhancing international travel freedom of Indians and, by extension, the Indian passport's global position.