🔗 Share this article

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

He mentioned that while neighbouring countries such as Bhutan and Sri Lanka offered easier access of Indian tourists, securing travel permits to travel to most Western and European countries continued to be difficult.

Such concerns regarding the limited global access of Indian passports found confirmation in the latest global passport ranking, ranking India in the 85th spot out of nearly two hundred nations, five spots lower than last year.

Officials in India has not commented regarding these findings so far.

Nations like Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size than India – which is the fifth-largest economy globally – hold better positions on the index in the seventies range, in that order.

In fact, India's rank in the past decade has hovered around the eighties, even dipping to the 90th spot in 2021. These rankings are dismal compared to Asian nations like Japan, South Korea and Singapore, which have consistently held leading ranks.

What Passport Strength Measures

Passport strength reflects a country's global influence and global influence. It also translates into enhanced travel freedom for passport holders, improving commercial and educational prospects. Limited passport power results in additional documentation, higher visa costs, fewer travel privileges and longer waiting times for travel.

But despite the drop in position, the number of countries providing visa-free travel to Indians has grown in the past decade or so.

As an instance, in 2014 – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumed office – 52 countries offered visa-free travel to Indians and its passport at seventy-sixth position on the index.

A year later, it fell to the 85th position, then improved to 80th in 2023 and 2024, dropping again 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 sixty-two this year.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The count of visa-free destinations this year (fifty-seven) is higher than the number in 2015 (52), yet India's rank during both periods is 85. So, why is that?

Experts say that a primary factor involves growing competition in international travel – meaning nations are entering into additional travel agreements to benefit their citizens 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, China has increased its count of visa-free countries its citizens can travel to from 50 to 82 in the past decade. Consequently, its position on the index has enhanced from ninety-fourth to sixtieth in that same duration.

In comparison, India – previously positioned 77th on the index during summer – dropped to the 85th position this autumn following the loss of two nations.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

A former Indian ambassador notes there are other factors that affect the strength of a country's passport, including economic and political conditions as well as its receptiveness to welcoming citizens from abroad.

For example, the US passport has fallen from the top ten and now occupies twelfth place – its lowest ever – due to its increasingly insular stance in world politics.

The former ambassador recalls how in the 1970s, Indians enjoyed visa-free travel to numerous European and Western nations, though this shifted after the Khalistan movement in the 1980s. Later political disturbances have continued to damage at India's image as a stable, democratic country.

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

Elements like how secure of a national passport and immigration processes also contribute in gaining visa-free access to foreign nations.

Enhanced Security Measures

India's passport faces ongoing security risks. Last year, law enforcement detained over two hundred individuals for alleged passport and visa irregularities. India is also known for cumbersome immigration procedures and a slow pace of visa processing.

The diplomat says that new technologies, such as the newly introduced digital passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and streamline immigration. The e-passport contains a small chip that stores biometric information, making it harder to counterfeit or alter the document.

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