Detail of passenger’s hand holding Indian passport on the airplane
| Photo Credit: Getty Images
India has climbed eight places on Henley Passport Index 2025 to 77th rank from 85 last year though the number of countries allowed visa-free access to Indian passport holders has mariginally been increased to 59. A passport is a government-issued document that allows an individual to travel overseas.
What is the Henley Passport Index?
The Henley Passport Index is a popular ranking of global passports that measures passport strength by the number of destinations that holders can visit without a prior visa. The index ranks countries based on statistics provided by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
According to the most recent data, Singapore’s passport remains the most powerful in the world, granting visa-free access to 193 of 227 locations.
Asian countries dominate the top spots, with Japan and South Korea securing second place, allowing travel to 190 destinations without a visa.
Seven EU passports share third place — Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Spain, all with access to 189 destinations.
In contrast, traditionally powerful passports like U.S. and U.K. have seen a dip in influence. The U.S. passport has slipped to tenth place from ninth last year, with access 182 destinations, while the U.K. has fallen from fifth to sixth position accessing 186 destinations.
India’s ranking
Despite only adding two destinations to its list of visa-free countries, the Indian passport has jumped up eight spots, from 85th to 77th, after dropping five spots in 2024. There are 59 visa-free countries accessible to India.
The Philippines and Sri Lanka are the two countries that have been added to the list of visa-free destinations.
Indian passport holders currently have visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 59 locations:
- Angola (Africa)
- Barbados (North America)
- Bhutan (Asia)
- Bolivia (South America)
- British Virgin Islands (North America)
- Burundi (Africa)
- Cambodia (Asia)
- Cape Verde Islands (Africa)
- Comoro Islands (Africa)
- Cook Islands (Oceania)
- Djibouti (Africa)
- Dominica (North America)
- Ethiopia (Africa)
- Fiji (Oceania)
- Grenada (North America)
- Guinea Bissau (Africa)
- Haiti (North America)
- Indonesia (Asia)
- Iran (Asia)
- Jamaica (North America)
- Jordan (Asia)
- Kazakhstan (Asia)
- Kenya (Africa)
- Kiribati (Oceania)
- Laos (Asia)
- Macao (Asia)
- Madagascar (Africa)
- Malaysia (Asia)
- Maldives (Asia)
- Marshall Islands (Oceania)
- Mauritius(Asia)
- Micronesia (Oceania)
- Mongolia (Asia)
- Montserrat (North America)
- Mozambique (Africa)
- Myanmar (Asia)
- Namibia (Africa)
- Nepal (Asia)
- Niue (Oceania)
- Palau Islands (Oceania)
- Phillipines (Asia)
- Qatar (Asia)
- Rwanda (Africa)
- Samoa (Oceania)
- Senegal (Africa)
- Seychelles (Africa)
- Sierra Leone (Africa)
- Somalia (Africa)
- Sri Lanka (Asia)
- St. Kitts and Nevis (North America)
- St. Lucia (North America)
- St. Vincent and Grenadines (North America)
- Tanzania (Africa)
- Thailand (Asia)
- Timor Leste (Asia)
- Trinidad and Tobago (Africa)
- Tuvalu (Oceania)
- Vanuatu (Oceania)
- Zimbabwe (Africa).
Published – July 23, 2025 03:30 pm IST
