🔗 Share this article The Reasons Behind India's Indian Passport Continues to Drop in Worldwide Standing India's passport ranks 85th position among one hundred ninety-nine countries on the Henley Passport Index In recent months, an online clip by a popular travel content creator expressing frustration over the limited power of the Indian passport gained massive traction on social media. The influencer stated that while neighbouring countries such as Bhutan and Sri Lanka offered easier access of Indian tourists, obtaining visas to travel to many nations in Europe and the West continued to be difficult. This dissatisfaction regarding India's poor passport strength found confirmation in recent Henley Passport Index, ranking India in the 85th spot out of 199 countries, five spots lower than last year. The Indian government have not issued a statement on the report yet. Countries including Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies than India – which is the fifth-largest economy globally – hold better positions on the index in the seventies range, in that order. Actually, India's rank in the past decade has remained around the eighties, falling to ninetieth place two years ago. These rankings are dismal when measured against other Asian countries such as Singapore, Japan and South Korea, all maintaining leading ranks. Indian passport holders have travel without visas in fifty-seven nations Global Passport Power Measures The power of a passport indicates a nation's soft power and international standing. This leads to enhanced travel freedom for passport holders, improving commercial and learning opportunities. Limited passport power results in more paperwork, increased visa expenses, fewer travel privileges and extended processing periods when journeying. But despite the decline in the rank, the count of nations providing visa-free travel for Indian citizens has actually increased over the last ten years. For example, in 2014 – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party assumed office – fifty-two nations provided visa-free travel for Indian passport holders with the passport ranked 76th in the ranking. A year later, it tumbled to the 85th position, then improved to 80th in 2023 and 2024, declining once more to the 85th position currently. At the same time, countries allowing visa-free travel for Indians grew from 52 in 2015 to sixty last year and 62 in 2024. The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape The number of visa-free destinations this year (57) exceeds the number in 2015 (52), yet the country's position for both these years remains at eighty-fifth. What explains this situation? Experts say that a major reason is the increasingly competitive landscape 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 number of destinations people can visit without visas has nearly doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to one hundred nine currently. As an illustration, China has increased its count of visa-free destinations available to its citizens from 50 to 82 in the past decade. As a result, its rank in the ranking has enhanced from ninety-fourth to sixtieth in that same duration. In comparison, The Indian passport – previously positioned at seventy-seventh place in July – fell to eighty-fifth place in October after losing access of two nations. The Singaporean passport holds the top position globally Other Influences Impacting Passport Power An ex-diplomat from India says multiple elements influencing a nation's passport power, including economic and political conditions as well as its receptiveness to welcoming citizens from other countries. For instance, the American passport has fallen of the top 10 and now occupies twelfth place – a historic low – due to its more inward-looking approach in world politics. The diplomat recalls that during the seventies, Indian citizens had visa-free access to numerous European and Western nations, but that changed after the Sikh separatist movement in the 1980s. Later political disturbances have further chipped away at India's image as a stable democracy. "Many countries are also becoming more cautious regarding migrants," he stated. "The country possesses a large quantity of citizens emigrating to other countries or remaining beyond visa limits affecting the national image." Factors like how secure of a national passport and immigration processes also play a role to obtaining visa-free entry to other countries. Enhanced Security Measures The Indian passport remains vulnerable to security risks. Last year, 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 says that new technologies, like India's recently-launched electronic passport or e-passport, can improve security and ease the immigration process. The e-passport includes a small chip that stores biometric information, making it harder to forge or tamper with the passport. However, more diplomatic outreach and travel partnerships remain key to boosting international travel freedom for Indian citizens and consequently, India's passport ranking.