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In recent months, a video from an Indian travel influencer expressing frustration over India's weak passport gained massive traction across digital platforms.

He mentioned that while neighbouring countries like Bhutan and Sri Lanka were more welcoming of Indian tourists, obtaining visas for visiting most Western and European countries remained a challenge.

This dissatisfaction regarding the limited global access of Indian passports was reflected in recent global passport ranking, which placed India in the 85th spot out of 199 countries, five spots lower compared to the previous year.

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

Countries like Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies 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.

In fact, the country's position over the last ten years has remained around the eighties, even dipping to ninetieth place in 2021. Such standings are dismal compared to Asian nations like Japan, South Korea and Singapore, which have consistently held top positions.

What Passport Strength Measures

The power of a passport indicates a nation's soft power and global influence. It also translates into enhanced travel freedom for its citizens, improving commercial and learning opportunities. A weak passport results in more paperwork, higher visa costs, reduced travel benefits and extended processing periods when journeying.

But despite the drop in position, the count of nations providing visa-free travel to Indians has actually increased in the past decade or so.

As an instance, in 2014 – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party came to power – 52 countries provided visa-free access for Indian passport holders with the passport ranked 76th in the ranking.

The following year, it fell to the 85th position, then improved to eightieth in 2023 and 2024, dropping again to the 85th position currently. Meanwhile, visa-free destinations for Indians increased from 52 in 2015 to sixty last year and sixty-two this year.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The number of nations allowing visa-free entry this year (fifty-seven) exceeds what it was in 2015 (fifty-two), but India's rank for both these years remains at eighty-fifth. What explains this situation?

Analysts note that a primary factor involves growing competition in international travel – indicating that nations are forming more travel partnerships for their populations' advantage and economic growth. According to recent analysis, the worldwide mean count of countries people can visit without visas 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 50 to 82 in the past decade. As a result, its rank in the ranking has enhanced from 94th to 60th during the same time period.

In comparison, India – previously positioned at seventy-seventh place during summer – fell to eighty-fifth place this autumn following the loss of two nations.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

An ex-diplomat from India notes multiple elements that affect the strength of a country's passport, including economic and political conditions plus its openness to welcoming citizens from other countries.

For example, the US passport has dropped out of the top 10 currently holding twelfth place – its lowest ever – due to its more inward-looking approach in global affairs.

The diplomat recalls how in the 1970s, Indian citizens had visa-free travel to numerous European and Western nations, but that changed following Khalistan movement during the eighties. Subsequent political upheavals have continued to damage the country's reputation as a stable, democratic country.

"Many countries are growing increasingly wary of immigrants," he stated. "India has a large quantity of people migrating to other countries or overstaying their visas affecting the national image."

Elements like how secure of a national passport and its immigration procedures also contribute to obtaining visa-free access to other countries.

Security and Technological Improvements

The Indian passport remains vulnerable to security threats. Last year, law enforcement arrested 203 people for suspected passport and visa irregularities. India is also known for complex immigration processes with lengthy timelines for visa approvals.

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. The e-passport includes a small chip holding biometric information, making it harder to forge or tamper with the passport.

However, more diplomatic outreach and travel partnerships continue essential to boosting the global mobility for Indian citizens and consequently, the Indian passport's global position.