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Earlier this year, an online clip from an Indian travel influencer complaining about the limited power of the Indian passport went viral on social media.

The influencer stated although nearby nations such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan were more welcoming to travelers from India, obtaining visas for visiting most Western and European countries continued to be difficult.

This dissatisfaction regarding the limited global access of Indian passports found confirmation in recent global passport ranking, which placed India in the 85th spot out of 199 countries, a decline of five positions compared to the previous year.

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

Nations like Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies compared to India – a nation that is the world's fifth biggest economy – hold better positions on the index at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, respectively.

In fact, the country's position in the past decade has remained in the 80s, falling to ninetieth place in 2021. These rankings are dismal when measured against Asian nations like Japan, South Korea and Singapore, which have consistently held top positions.

Global Passport Power Measures

Passport strength indicates a country's global influence and international standing. It also translates into better mobility for passport holders, improving commercial and learning opportunities. Limited passport power results in additional documentation, increased visa expenses, fewer travel privileges and longer waiting times for travel.

But despite the decline in the rank, the count of nations offering visa-free access for Indian citizens has actually increased over the last ten years.

For example, in 2014 – when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party came to power – 52 countries provided visa-free access to Indians with the passport ranked 76th in the ranking.

The following year, it tumbled to the 85th position, then improved to eightieth in 2023 and 2024, dropping again to the eighty-fifth spot this year. Meanwhile, visa-free destinations for Indians increased from fifty-two eight years ago to 60 in 2023 and 62 in 2024.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The number of visa-free destinations this year (fifty-seven) exceeds what it was in 2015 (52), yet the country's position for both these years remains at eighty-fifth. So, why is that?

Experts say that a primary factor involves growing competition in international travel – indicating that countries are forming additional travel agreements to benefit their citizens and their economies. According to recent analysis, the worldwide mean count of countries travellers are able to access visa-free has almost doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to one hundred nine currently.

For example, The Chinese passport has increased its count of visa-free destinations its citizens can travel to from fifty to eighty-two in the past decade. As a result, its rank in the ranking has improved from 94th to 60th in that same duration.

Meanwhile, India – previously positioned at seventy-seventh place during summer – fell to the 85th position in October after losing access of two nations.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

A former Indian ambassador says multiple elements that affect a nation's passport power, like its economic and political stability as well as its receptiveness to accepting travelers from abroad.

For example, the American passport has dropped out from the top ten and now occupies the 12th position – a historic low – due to its increasingly insular stance in global affairs.

The former ambassador recalls how in the 1970s, Indian citizens had visa-free access to numerous European and Western nations, but that changed after the Khalistan movement in the 1980s. Later political disturbances have further chipped away at India's image as a stable democracy.

"Many countries are growing more cautious of immigrants," he stated. "The country possesses a high number of citizens emigrating overseas or overstaying their visas affecting the national image."

Factors like how secure a country's passport is and its immigration procedures also contribute to obtaining visa-free access to foreign nations.

Security and Technological Improvements

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

The diplomat indicated that new technologies, such as the newly introduced digital passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and ease the immigration process. The e-passport contains a microchip holding biometric information, increasing difficulty to counterfeit or alter the passport.

But, more diplomatic outreach and travel agreements continue essential to boosting international travel freedom for Indian citizens and consequently, India's passport ranking.