The Reasons Behind India's National Passport Is Falling in Global Ranking

In recent months, an online clip from an Indian travel influencer complaining about India's weak passport gained massive traction on social media.

He mentioned that while neighbouring countries like Bhutan and Sri Lanka were more welcoming to travelers from India, securing travel permits for visiting many nations in Europe and the West remained a challenge.

Such concerns regarding the limited global access of Indian passports found confirmation in the latest global passport ranking, ranking India at position eighty-five out of 199 countries, five spots lower than last year.

Officials in India has not commented on the report so far.

Nations including Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size compared to India – which is the world's fifth biggest economy – hold better positions on the index in the seventies range, in that order.

Actually, India's rank over the last ten years has hovered around the eighties, falling to the 90th spot two years ago. Such standings appear poor when measured against other Asian countries like Singapore, Japan and South Korea, all maintaining top positions.

Global Passport Power Measures

Passport strength reflects a nation's soft power and global influence. This leads to better mobility for its citizens, improving commercial and educational prospects. Limited passport power means additional documentation, increased visa expenses, fewer travel privileges and extended processing periods for travel.

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.

For example, eight years ago – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – 52 countries offered visa-free access to Indians and its passport at seventy-sixth position on the index.

The following year, it tumbled 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 fifty-two eight years ago to 60 in 2023 and sixty-two this year.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The count of nations allowing visa-free entry this year (fifty-seven) exceeds the number in 2015 (52), yet the country's position during both periods is 85. So, why is that?

Experts say that a major reason is the increasingly competitive landscape in global mobility – meaning nations are forming additional travel agreements to benefit their citizens and their economies. As per recent analysis, the worldwide mean number of destinations travellers are able to access visa-free has almost doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to one hundred nine currently.

As an illustration, The Chinese passport has increased the number of visa-free countries available to its citizens from fifty to eighty-two over the last ten years. As a result, its rank on the index has improved from ninety-fourth to sixtieth in that same duration.

In comparison, The Indian passport – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place during summer – fell to the 85th position this autumn following the loss of two nations.

Other Influences Affecting Passport Strength

A former Indian ambassador says there are other factors that affect a nation's passport power, like its economic and political stability plus its receptiveness to accepting travelers from abroad.

For example, the American passport has dropped out from the top ten currently holding twelfth place – a historic low – due to its increasingly insular stance in world politics.

The former ambassador mentioned that during the seventies, Indians enjoyed visa-free travel to many Western and European countries, but that changed following Sikh separatist movement in the 1980s. Later political disturbances have further chipped away at India's image as a stable, democratic country.

"Numerous nations are growing more cautious of immigrants," the diplomat added. "India has a high number of citizens emigrating to other countries or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the national image."

Elements such as how secure of a national passport and immigration processes also play a role to obtaining visa-free entry to foreign nations.

Security and Technological Improvements

The Indian passport faces ongoing security threats. Last year, authorities detained over two hundred individuals for alleged passport and visa irregularities. India is also known for complex immigration processes 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 contains a small chip holding biometric information, making it harder to counterfeit or alter the document.

But, increased diplomatic efforts and travel agreements remain key for enhancing the global mobility for Indian citizens and, by extension, the Indian passport's global position.