The Henley Passport Index measures the strength of passports around the world based on how many countries they can travel to visa-free. In the updated version of the Henley Passport Index 2025, India's passport fell further down to rank 85 from 80 in the previous edition. This means Indians find it harder than before to travel freely across borders worldwide. But with many countries easing restrictions, Indians will be able to travel without the need for a visa in new countries.
As of Januray 2025, Indian passport holders can now enjoy visa-free or visa-on-arrival access in 57 countries. The lowest level occurred in 2017, as Indian passport holders could only reach 49 destinations without requiring any visa. As of 2024, this improved to 62. This constitutes a sharp fall from the year before when the figure for global mobility dipped further for the Indian passport.
Global Passport Rankings
Singapore takes yet another lead position in the last index by maintaining one passport that enjoys visa-free travelling to 195 destinations. On the second rank, Japanese citizens can enter 193 different countries. Germany, France, and Italy also maintained their shared third position, with visa-free access to 192 countries. Meanwhile, America witnessed a continued decrease in its rankings over time as it slipped down to 9th in 2025 and enabled visa-free entry into 186 countries.
Although many countries have improved their power of passports, where especially Europeon and Asian nations are more optimistic, India seems to have stagnated at some point and is a barrier for its people to easily travel around the world for business, tourism, or education purposes.
Regional Comparison
When compared to South Asia, the Maldivian passport remains the strongest at 53rd rank which enjoys visa-free access to 94 countries. Nepal and Bangladesh both rank 101st and 100th, respectively, with visa-free access to 39 and 40 countries. Bhutan provides its citizens with access to 52 countries, and Sri Lanka has access to 44 destinations. Pakistan lags behind at 103rd, with access to only 33 visa-free countries.
The position at 85th also reflects the plight of Indians in a larger South Asian context where better-ranked passports exist in much smaller countries, like the Maldives, which should spotlight the inequalities in global mobility that prevail within the region.
Implications for Indian Travellers
The recent ranking and decrease in the number of visa-free countries will have a detrimental effect on Indian passport holders. Here is what a traveller should know:
1. Increased Visa Requests
With this decrease in rank, the passport ranking of India, the visa application and related fees for Indian visitors will increase manifold. Those places, which granted visas on arrival till now, would now ask Indian travellers to obtain formal visas resulting in higher time, paperwork, and expense for travelling.
2. Impacts on the Tourism Industry
The tourism sector, which benefits significantly from international travel, may also decelerate further with even tighter conditions for travel on Indians. This may impact the outgoing tourism from India as well as the incoming tourism to India since fewer visa-free opportunities render flexibility and spontaneity impossible.
3. Travel costs increase
Besides the visa fees, air ticket prices and premiums on travel insurance are expected to rise. Some countries will collect extra fees to support additional paperwork or increased levels of scrutiny toward passengers from passport-weak nations.
To emerge strong in the rankings of the Henley Passport Index in the future there should be improved mobility globally for Indians. Improved diplomatic ties can enhance visa-free access for Indians across various countries.
