🔗 Share this article

In recent months, an online clip by a popular travel content creator expressing frustration over India's weak passport went viral on social media.

The influencer stated that while neighbouring countries such as Bhutan and Sri Lanka offered easier access of travelers from India, securing travel permits to travel to many nations in Europe and the West remained a challenge.

Such concerns regarding India's poor passport strength was reflected in recent Henley Passport Index, ranking the country in the 85th spot among 199 countries, five spots lower compared to the previous year.

The Indian government has not commented regarding these findings so far.

Countries including Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size than India – a nation that is the world's fifth biggest economy – are ranked higher in the ranking in the seventies range, respectively.

Actually, India's rank in the past decade has remained around the eighties, falling to the 90th spot two years ago. These rankings are dismal when measured against other Asian countries like Japan, South Korea and Singapore, which have consistently held leading ranks.

What Passport Strength Measures

Passport strength indicates 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, 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, in 2014 – when the current administration's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – fifty-two nations offered visa-free access to Indians and its passport ranked 76th on the index.

The following year, it tumbled to eighty-fifth place, then rose to eightieth over the past two years, dropping again to the 85th position currently. At the same time, countries allowing visa-free travel for Indians increased from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and 62 in 2024.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The number of nations allowing visa-free entry this year (57) exceeds the number eight years ago (fifty-two), but India's rank during both periods is 85. So, why is that?

Experts say that a primary factor involves growing competition in global mobility – meaning countries are entering into additional travel agreements for their populations' advantage and economic growth. As per recent analysis, the worldwide mean count of countries people can visit visa-free has almost doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to one hundred nine currently.

As an illustration, The Chinese passport has expanded its count of visa-free countries its citizens can travel to from fifty to eighty-two over the last ten years. Consequently, its position on the index has enhanced from ninety-fourth to sixtieth in that same duration.

Meanwhile, India – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place during summer – dropped to the 85th position this autumn following the loss to two countries.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

A former Indian ambassador says multiple elements that affect a nation's passport power, including its economic and political stability as well as its receptiveness to accepting travelers from abroad.

For instance, the American passport has dropped out of the top 10 currently holding the 12th position – its lowest ever – because of its increasingly insular stance in world politics.

The diplomat mentioned how in the 1970s, Indians enjoyed visa-free travel to many Western and European countries, though this shifted following Sikh separatist movement during the eighties. Subsequent political upheavals have continued to damage the country's reputation as a stable democracy.

"Many countries are also becoming increasingly wary regarding migrants," the diplomat added. "The country possesses a large quantity of people migrating to other countries or remaining beyond visa limits affecting the country's reputation."

Factors such as the security level a country's passport is and its immigration procedures also contribute in gaining visa-free entry to foreign nations.

Enhanced Security Measures

The Indian passport faces ongoing security risks. In 2024, authorities arrested 203 people for alleged visa and passport fraud. India is also known for cumbersome immigration procedures and a slow pace of visa processing.

The former ambassador indicated that new technologies, such as the newly introduced electronic passport or e-passport, can improve security and ease the immigration process. The e-passport includes a small chip that stores biometric information, increasing difficulty to forge or tamper with the passport.

However, increased diplomatic efforts and travel partnerships remain key to boosting the global mobility for Indian citizens and, by extension, the Indian passport's global position.