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Earlier this year, a video from an Indian travel influencer expressing frustration over the limited power of the Indian passport gained massive traction on social media.

The influencer stated that while neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan offered easier access to Indian tourists, securing travel permits for visiting most Western and European countries continued to be difficult.

This dissatisfaction regarding India's poor passport strength was reflected in recent Henley Passport Index, ranking India in the 85th spot out of nearly two hundred nations, a decline of five positions compared to the previous year.

Officials in India has not commented on the report so far.

Countries including Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies than India – a nation that is the world's fifth biggest economy – hold better positions on the index in the seventies range, in that order.

In fact, the country's position in the past decade has hovered in the 80s, even dipping to ninetieth place two years ago. Such standings appear poor when measured against Asian nations like Singapore, Japan and South Korea, which have consistently held top positions.

Global Passport Power Measures

The power of a passport indicates a country's global influence and global influence. This leads to better mobility for passport holders, improving commercial and learning opportunities. A weak passport results in 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 in the past decade or so.

As an instance, in 2014 – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – fifty-two nations offered 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 rose to eightieth in 2023 and 2024, declining once more to the 85th position this year. At the same time, countries allowing visa-free travel to Indian citizens grew from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and sixty-two this year.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The count of nations allowing visa-free entry this year (fifty-seven) exceeds the number eight years ago (fifty-two), yet 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 global mobility – indicating that nations are entering into additional travel agreements to benefit their citizens and their economies. As per recent analysis, the worldwide mean number of destinations people can visit without visas has almost doubled from 58 in 2006 to one hundred nine currently.

For example, The Chinese passport has expanded its count of visa-free destinations available to its citizens from 50 to 82 in the past decade. Consequently, its position in the ranking has enhanced from 94th to 60th during the same time period.

Meanwhile, India – previously positioned at seventy-seventh place during summer – dropped to eighty-fifth place this autumn following the loss of two nations.

Additional Factors Affecting Passport Strength

A former Indian ambassador says there are other factors that affect a nation's passport power, including economic and political conditions plus its receptiveness to accepting travelers from abroad.

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

The former ambassador recalls that during the seventies, Indian citizens had visa-free travel to many Western and European countries, but that changed after the Sikh separatist movement during the eighties. Subsequent political upheavals have continued to damage the country's reputation as a stable, democratic country.

"Numerous nations are also becoming increasingly wary regarding migrants," the diplomat added. "India has a high number of people migrating overseas or overstaying their visas affecting the national image."

Factors such as the security level of a national passport and its immigration procedures also play a role in gaining visa-free entry to foreign nations.

Enhanced Security Measures

The Indian passport remains vulnerable to security threats. Last year, authorities arrested 203 people for alleged passport and visa irregularities. The country also has cumbersome immigration procedures and a slow pace of visa processing.

The diplomat indicated that new technologies, like India's recently-launched electronic passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and streamline immigration. This electronic document includes a microchip holding biometric information, increasing difficulty to forge or tamper with the passport.

However, more diplomatic outreach and travel partnerships continue essential for enhancing the global mobility for Indian citizens and, by extension, India's passport ranking.