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Earlier this year, an online clip from a popular travel content creator expressing frustration over India's weak passport gained massive traction on social media.

He mentioned that while neighbouring countries like Bhutan and Sri Lanka offered easier access to Indian tourists, obtaining visas for visiting many nations in Europe and the West remained a challenge.

Such concerns with India's poor passport strength found confirmation in the latest Henley Passport Index, which placed India in the 85th spot out of 199 countries, a decline of five positions than last year.

Officials in India has not commented regarding these findings yet.

Countries including Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size than India – a nation that is the fifth-largest economy globally – are ranked higher on the index at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, respectively.

Actually, the country's position over the last ten years has remained around the eighties, even dipping to the 90th spot in 2021. These rankings appear poor compared to Asian nations like Singapore, Japan and South Korea, all maintaining leading ranks.

Global Passport Power Measures

The power of a passport reflects a country's global influence and global influence. It also translates into enhanced travel freedom for its citizens, boosting business and learning opportunities. A weak passport means more paperwork, increased visa expenses, reduced travel benefits and longer waiting times for travel.

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

For example, eight years ago – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party assumed office – 52 countries offered visa-free travel to Indians with the passport ranked 76th in the ranking.

A year later, it fell to the 85th position, then improved to 80th in 2023 and 2024, declining once more to the 85th position currently. Meanwhile, visa-free destinations to Indian citizens grew from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and sixty-two this year.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The count of visa-free destinations this year (57) exceeds the number in 2015 (52), but the country's position for both these years is 85. What explains this situation?

Analysts note that a primary factor is the increasingly competitive landscape in international travel – meaning countries are entering into more travel partnerships to benefit their citizens and economic growth. As per recent analysis, the global average number of destinations people can visit visa-free has nearly doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to one hundred nine currently.

For example, China has expanded its count of visa-free countries available to its citizens from fifty to eighty-two over the last ten years. 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 the 85th position this autumn following the loss to two countries.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

An ex-diplomat from India says there are other factors influencing the strength of a country's passport, including economic and political conditions plus its receptiveness to welcoming citizens from other countries.

For example, the American passport has dropped out of the top 10 currently holding the 12th position – a historic low – because of its more inward-looking approach in global affairs.

The former ambassador recalls that during the seventies, Indian citizens had visa-free access to numerous European and Western nations, but that changed following Khalistan movement during the eighties. Later political disturbances have continued to damage the country's reputation as a stable democracy.

"Numerous nations are also becoming more cautious of immigrants," the diplomat added. "The country possesses a high number of people migrating overseas or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the country's reputation."

Elements like how secure of a national passport and immigration processes also contribute to obtaining visa-free access to foreign nations.

Enhanced Security Measures

India's passport remains vulnerable to security risks. Last year, law enforcement detained over two hundred individuals for suspected visa and passport fraud. The country also has cumbersome immigration procedures and a slow pace for visa approvals.

The former ambassador indicated that technological advances, 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 forge or tamper with the passport.

However, more diplomatic outreach and travel agreements remain key to boosting international travel freedom of Indians and consequently, the Indian passport's global position.