🔗 Share this article

In recent months, a video from an Indian travel influencer complaining about the limited power of the Indian passport went viral on social media.

He mentioned that while neighbouring countries such as Bhutan and Sri Lanka offered easier access to Indian tourists, securing travel permits to travel to most Western and European countries continued to be difficult.

Such concerns with India's poor passport strength was reflected in recent global passport ranking, which placed the country at position eighty-five out of nearly two hundred nations, a decline of five positions compared to the previous year.

Officials in India has not commented regarding these findings yet.

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

In fact, the country's position in the past decade has hovered in the 80s, even dipping to ninetieth place in 2021. Such standings are dismal when measured against Asian nations such as Singapore, Japan and South Korea, all maintaining top positions.

What Passport Strength Measures

The power of a passport indicates a country's global influence and global influence. This leads to better mobility for its citizens, boosting business and educational prospects. Limited passport power results in additional documentation, higher visa costs, 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 actually increased over the last ten years.

As an instance, in 2014 – when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party came to power – 52 countries provided visa-free travel to Indians with the passport at seventy-sixth position in the ranking.

The following year, it fell to eighty-fifth place, then rose to 80th over the past two years, declining once more to the eighty-fifth spot currently. At the same time, countries allowing visa-free travel for Indians increased from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and sixty-two this year.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The count of visa-free destinations this year (fifty-seven) exceeds what it was in 2015 (fifty-two), yet India's rank during both periods remains at eighty-fifth. What explains this situation?

Analysts note that a major reason involves growing competition in international travel – meaning nations are forming more travel partnerships to benefit their citizens and economic growth. According to recent analysis, the global average count of countries travellers are able to access visa-free has almost doubled from 58 in 2006 to one hundred nine currently.

For example, China has increased the number of visa-free countries its citizens can travel to from fifty to eighty-two in the past decade. As a result, its rank on the index has improved from 94th to 60th in that same duration.

Meanwhile, The Indian passport – which was ranked 77th on the index during summer – fell to eighty-fifth place this autumn following the loss to two countries.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

An ex-diplomat from India says multiple elements influencing a nation's passport power, like economic and political conditions as well as its receptiveness to accepting travelers from abroad.

For example, the US passport has dropped out from the top ten currently holding twelfth place – a historic low – because of its increasingly insular stance in global affairs.

The diplomat mentioned that during the seventies, Indians enjoyed visa-free travel to many Western and European countries, though this shifted after the Sikh separatist movement in the 1980s. Later political disturbances have further chipped away the country's reputation as a stable democracy.

"Many countries are growing increasingly wary of immigrants," the diplomat added. "India has a high number of citizens emigrating overseas or overstaying their visas affecting the country's reputation."

Factors like how secure of a national passport and immigration processes also play a role in gaining visa-free entry to other countries.

Security and Technological Improvements

The Indian passport remains vulnerable to security risks. In 2024, authorities 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 says that technological advances, such as the newly introduced digital passport or e-passport, can improve security and streamline immigration. This electronic document contains a microchip holding biometric information, increasing difficulty to forge or tamper with the passport.

But, more diplomatic outreach and travel agreements remain key for enhancing the global mobility of Indians and, by extension, India's passport ranking.