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In recent months, an online clip by an Indian travel influencer expressing frustration over the limited power of the Indian passport went viral across digital platforms.

He mentioned although nearby nations such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan offered easier access of travelers from India, obtaining visas to travel to many nations in Europe and the West continued to be difficult.

Such concerns regarding the limited global access of Indian passports found confirmation in the latest global passport ranking, ranking the country in the 85th spot out of 199 countries, five spots lower compared to the previous year.

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

Countries like Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size than India – which is the fifth-largest economy globally – hold better positions on the index at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, in that order.

Actually, India's rank over the last ten years has remained around the eighties, falling to ninetieth place two years ago. These rankings are dismal compared to other Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore, all maintaining leading ranks.

Global Passport Power Measures

The power of a passport indicates a nation's soft power and global influence. This leads to better mobility for its citizens, improving commercial and educational prospects. Limited passport power means additional documentation, higher visa costs, reduced travel benefits and longer waiting times for travel.

However, even with the drop in position, the number of countries providing visa-free travel to Indians has grown in the past decade or so.

As an instance, eight years ago – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party assumed office – fifty-two nations offered visa-free access to Indians and its passport at seventy-sixth position in the ranking.

A year later, it tumbled to the 85th position, then rose to 80th in 2023 and 2024, dropping again to the 85th position this year. Meanwhile, countries allowing visa-free travel to Indian citizens grew from fifty-two eight years ago to sixty last year and sixty-two this year.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The count of nations allowing visa-free entry in 2025 (57) is higher than what it was eight years ago (52), yet India's rank during both periods is 85. So, why is that?

Experts say that a primary factor is the increasingly competitive landscape in global mobility – meaning nations are entering into more travel partnerships for their populations' advantage and economic growth. According to recent analysis, the worldwide mean number of destinations people can visit without visas has nearly doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to one hundred nine currently.

As an illustration, China has increased its count of visa-free countries its citizens can travel to from fifty to eighty-two in the past decade. Consequently, its rank in the ranking has improved from ninety-fourth to sixtieth during the same time period.

Meanwhile, India – previously positioned 77th on the index during summer – fell 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, including economic and political conditions as well as its openness to welcoming citizens from abroad.

For example, the American passport has dropped out from the top ten and now occupies the 12th position – its lowest ever – due to its more inward-looking approach in global affairs.

The diplomat mentioned that during the seventies, Indians enjoyed visa-free travel to many Western and European countries, but that changed after the Khalistan movement during the eighties. Later political disturbances have further chipped away 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 how secure a country's passport is and its immigration procedures also contribute in gaining visa-free entry to other countries.

Security and Technological Improvements

India's passport remains vulnerable to security risks. Last year, law enforcement arrested 203 people for suspected passport and visa irregularities. India is also known for cumbersome immigration procedures with lengthy timelines of visa processing.

The former ambassador says that new technologies, like India's recently-launched digital passport or e-passport, can improve security and ease the immigration process. This electronic document includes a small chip holding biometric information, increasing difficulty to forge or tamper with the passport.

However, more diplomatic outreach and travel partnerships continue essential to boosting international travel freedom of Indians and, by extension, India's passport ranking.