🔗 Share this article The Reasons Behind India's National Passport Is Falling in Global Ranking The Indian passport holds the eighty-fifth position among 199 nations on the Henley Passport Index In recent months, an online clip from a popular travel content creator complaining about the limited power of the Indian passport went viral on social media. The influencer stated although neighbouring countries such as Bhutan and Sri Lanka offered easier access to Indian tourists, securing travel permits to travel to many nations in Europe and the West remained a challenge. Such concerns regarding the limited global access of Indian passports found confirmation in recent Henley Passport Index, which placed the country 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 regarding these findings so far. Countries including Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies compared to 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 hovered in the 80s, even dipping to the 90th spot two years ago. Such standings appear poor compared to other Asian countries like Singapore, Japan and South Korea, all maintaining top positions. Citizens of India have travel without visas in fifty-seven nations Global Passport Power Indicates Passport strength indicates a country's global influence and global influence. This leads to enhanced travel freedom for its citizens, improving commercial and educational prospects. Limited passport power results in additional documentation, increased visa expenses, fewer travel privileges and longer waiting times for travel. But despite the drop in position, the count of nations providing visa-free travel for Indian citizens has actually increased over the last ten years. For example, eight years ago – when the current administration's ruling party came to power – 52 countries provided visa-free travel for Indian passport holders and its passport ranked 76th on the index. The following year, it fell to the 85th position, then improved to eightieth in 2023 and 2024, declining once more to the 85th position currently. At the same time, countries allowing visa-free travel to Indian citizens grew from 52 in 2015 to sixty last year and 62 in 2024. The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape The number of nations allowing visa-free entry in 2025 (fifty-seven) is higher than the number eight years ago (52), but India's rank during both periods is 85. What explains this situation? Analysts note that a primary factor involves growing competition in global mobility – meaning countries are entering into more travel partnerships for their populations' advantage and their economies. As per a 2025 report, the global average count of countries travellers are able to access visa-free has nearly doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to 109 in 2025. As an illustration, 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 position on the index has enhanced from 94th to 60th during the same time period. Meanwhile, India – previously positioned at seventy-seventh place in July – dropped to the 85th position this autumn after losing access to two countries. Singapore's passport holds the top position in the world Other Influences Impacting Passport Power A former Indian ambassador says multiple elements that affect the strength of a country's passport, including its economic and political stability plus its openness to welcoming citizens from abroad. For example, the US passport has fallen of the top 10 currently holding twelfth place – its lowest ever – because of its more inward-looking approach in global affairs. The former ambassador recalls how in the 1970s, Indians enjoyed visa-free travel to numerous European and Western nations, but that changed after the Khalistan movement during the eighties. Later political disturbances have continued to damage the country's reputation as a stable, democratic country. "Numerous nations are also becoming more cautious regarding migrants," he stated. "The country possesses a large quantity of people migrating to other countries or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the country's reputation." Factors like how secure a country's passport is and its immigration procedures also play a role to obtaining visa-free entry to other countries. Security and Technological Improvements The Indian passport faces ongoing security risks. Last year, law enforcement arrested over two hundred individuals for suspected passport and visa irregularities. India is also known for cumbersome immigration procedures with lengthy timelines of visa processing. The diplomat says that new technologies, like India's recently-launched digital passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and streamline immigration. This electronic document contains a small chip that stores biometric information, increasing difficulty to counterfeit or alter the document. But, more diplomatic outreach and travel partnerships continue essential to boosting international travel freedom of Indians and consequently, India's passport ranking.