India slips to 85th on Henley Passport Index 2025, granting visa-free access to only 57 countries amid rising global competition.

A video posted on social media earlier this year by an Indian travel influencer bemoaning India’s feeble passport went viral.

He claimed that obtaining visas to enter the majority of Western and European nations was still difficult, even though nearby nations like Bhutan and Sri Lanka were more hospitable to Indian tourists.

His displeasure with India’s weak passport was mirrored in the most recent Henley Passport Index, which ranks the world’s passports according to visa-free travel. India was ranked 85th out of 199 countries, five places worse than the previous year.

As of now, the Indian government has not responded to the report. The Ministry of External Affairs has been contacted by the BBC.

India, the world’s fifth largest economy, is ranked higher on the index at 78th, 74th, and 72nd places, respectively, than nations with significantly smaller economies, such as Rwanda, Ghana, and Azerbaijan.

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In actuality, India’s ranking has remained in the 80s throughout the last ten years, falling as low as 90th in 2021. Compared to Asian countries like Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, who have continuously occupied the top spots, these rankings are appalling.

Similar to the previous year, Singapore led the index this year with 193 countries offering visa-free travel. With 190 visa-free locations, South Korea came in second, and Japan followed in third with 189.

Similar to the inhabitants of Mauritania, an African nation that ranks 85th with India, Indian passport holders are granted visa-free entrance into 57 countries.

A country’s soft power and international influence are reflected in the strength of its passport. Additionally, it improves residents’ mobility, which increases business and educational prospects. Longer wait periods for travel, more paperwork, higher visa fees, and less travel privileges are all consequences of a poor passport.

However, the number of nations that grant Indians visa-free entry has actually climbed over the last ten or so years, despite the drop in the ranking.

For instance, 52 nations allowed Indians to travel without a visa in 2014, the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took office, yet its passport came in at number 76 on the ranking.

It fell to 85th place a year later, then climbed to 80th and 2024 before falling to 85th place once more this year. In the meantime, the number of Indian visa-free locations rose from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and 62 in 2024.

Although there are more visa-free places in 2025 (57) than there were in 2015 (52), India is ranked 85th for both years. But why is that?

According to experts, one of the main causes is the very competitive global mobility market, which means that nations are forming more travel alliances to help their economies and populations. The average number of places in the world that travelers can visit without a visa has almost doubled from 58 in 2006 to 109 in 2025, per a report published by Henley & Partners in 2025.

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For instance, in the last ten years, China has expanded the list of places its residents can visit without a visa from fifty to eighty-two. As a result, throughout the same time period, its index ranking rose from 94th to 60th.

The Henley Passport Index is updated quarterly to reflect changes in international visa rules. In July, India was placed 77th on the index because it had visa-free access to 59 countries. However, after losing access to two countries, it fell to 85th place in October.