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In recent months, an online clip by an Indian travel influencer expressing frustration over India's weak passport went viral on social media.

He mentioned although neighbouring countries like Bhutan and Sri Lanka offered easier access to Indian tourists, securing travel permits 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 Henley Passport Index, ranking the country in the 85th spot out of 199 countries, a decline of five positions than last year.

Officials in India have not issued a statement on the report yet.

Countries including Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size than India – a nation that is the fifth-largest economy globally – hold better positions in the ranking in the seventies range, in that order.

Actually, the country's position in the past decade has hovered in the 80s, falling to ninetieth place in 2021. These rankings appear poor when measured against other Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore, which have consistently held top positions.

Global Passport Power Measures

Passport strength indicates a nation's soft power and international standing. It also translates into better mobility for passport holders, improving commercial and educational prospects. Limited passport power means more paperwork, higher visa costs, reduced travel benefits and longer waiting times when journeying.

However, even with the drop in position, the count of nations providing visa-free travel for Indian citizens has actually increased in the past decade or so.

As an instance, eight years ago – the year the current administration's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumed office – 52 countries offered visa-free travel to Indians and its passport at seventy-sixth position in the ranking.

A year later, it tumbled to eighty-fifth place, then improved to eightieth in 2023 and 2024, dropping again to the 85th position currently. Meanwhile, visa-free destinations to Indian citizens increased from fifty-two eight years ago to sixty last year and sixty-two this year.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The number of visa-free destinations this year (fifty-seven) exceeds what it was eight years ago (fifty-two), but India's rank during both periods remains at eighty-fifth. What explains this situation?

Analysts note that a major reason is the increasingly competitive landscape in global mobility – indicating that countries are entering into additional travel agreements to benefit their citizens and their economies. 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.

As an illustration, The Chinese passport has expanded the number of visa-free destinations its citizens can travel to from fifty to eighty-two in the past decade. Consequently, its rank in the ranking has enhanced from ninety-fourth to sixtieth during the same time period.

Meanwhile, India – previously positioned at seventy-seventh place in July – fell to the 85th position in October following the loss of two nations.

Other Influences Affecting Passport Strength

An ex-diplomat from India says there are other factors influencing a nation's passport power, including economic and political conditions plus its openness to accepting travelers from other countries.

For example, the US passport has fallen from the top ten and now occupies the 12th position – its lowest ever – due to its increasingly insular stance in global affairs.

The former ambassador recalls that during the seventies, Indians enjoyed visa-free travel to many Western and European countries, though this shifted after the Khalistan movement during the eighties. Later political disturbances have continued to damage at India's image as a stable, democratic country.

"Many countries are also becoming more cautious regarding migrants," the diplomat added. "The country possesses a large quantity of people migrating to other countries or overstaying their visas affecting the country's reputation."

Factors like how secure a country's passport is and its immigration procedures also contribute in gaining visa-free entry to other countries.

Enhanced Security Measures

India's passport faces ongoing security risks. Last year, authorities detained 203 people for suspected visa and passport fraud. The country also has cumbersome immigration procedures and a slow pace of visa processing.

The former ambassador says that new technologies, like India's recently-launched electronic passport or e-passport, can improve security and ease the immigration process. This electronic document includes a small chip that stores biometric information, making it harder to counterfeit or alter the document.

But, increased diplomatic efforts and travel agreements remain key for enhancing international travel freedom of Indians and, by extension, India's passport ranking.