NEW DELHI, India — India’s passport strength has declined to the 85th position out of 199 countries on the latest Henley Passport Index, a drop of five spots from the previous year.
This low ranking, which grants Indian citizens visa-free entry to 57 countries, mirrors recent dissatisfaction expressed by citizens, including a viral video earlier this year by an Indian travel influencer.
The influencer’s video complained about the nation’s weak passport, contrasting the welcome received in neighboring countries like Bhutan and Sri Lanka with the difficulty of obtaining visas for most Western and European nations.
He said that while neighbouring countries like Bhutan and Sri Lanka were more welcoming of Indian tourists, getting visas to travel to most Western and European countries remained a challenge.
The Indian government has not yet commented on the report, which ranks economies significantly smaller than India—the world’s fifth-largest economy—higher: Rwanda (78th), Ghana (74th), and Azerbaijan (72nd).
The paradox of dropping rank and increasing access
India’s rank has consistently hovered in the 80s over the past decade, even briefly dipping to the 90th spot in 2021.
These rankings stand in stark contrast to top Asian nations like Singapore, which secured the first spot with visa-free travel to 193 countries, followed by South Korea (190) and Japan (189).
However, a deeper analysis reveals a paradox: despite the decline in the rank, the number of countries offering visa-free access to Indians has actually increased in the past decade or so.
- In 2014, 52 countries offered visa-free travel, and the passport ranked 76th.
- In 2025, Indian passport holders gained visa-free entry to 57 countries, yet the rank fell to 85th, sharing the same spot as Mauritania.
The increase in visa-free destinations (from 52 in 2015 to 57 in 2025) has not prevented the rank from tumbling because of the increasingly competitive landscape in global mobility.
The 2025 Henley & Partners report indicates that the global average number of destinations travellers can access visa-free has nearly doubled from 58 in 2006 to 109 in 2025.
For example, China improved its rank from $\text{94th}$ to $\text{60th}$ by increasing its visa-free destinations from 50 to 82.
Passport strength is a crucial indicator of a nation’s soft power and global influence, which translates into better mobility, boosting business and learning opportunities for its citizens.
Political and security factors
Achal Malhotra, former Indian ambassador to Armenia, argues that other key factors beyond economic size influence a country’s passport strength, including economic and political stability and openness to welcoming citizens from other countries.
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Mr. Malhotra recalls how Indian citizens once enjoyed easier travel to Western nations, a reality that changed after the Khalistan movement in the 1980s, which caused internal turmoil and, along with subsequent political upheavals, chipped away at India’s image as a stable democracy.
He also noted growing international scrutiny of migrants:
“Many countries are also becoming increasingly wary of immigrants,” Mr Malhotra says. “India has a high number of people migrating to other countries or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the country’s reputation.”
Other issues affecting India’s reputation include security threats and slow processing times. In 2024, the Delhi police arrested 203 people for alleged visa and passport fraud, highlighting the document’s vulnerability.
Mr. Malhotra suggests that technological advances, such as India’s recently-launched electronic passport or e-passport—which includes a chip for biometric information—can improve security and ease the immigration process.
However, he concludes that more diplomatic outreach and travel agreements remain key to boosting the global mobility of Indians and, by extension, India’s passport ranking.
