The significance of Indian passports has risen fairly, as per the recently launched Henley Passport Index. On Tuesday, the Henley Passport Index revealed that the Indian passport has climbed eight ranks to go up to 77th from the 85th position.
Indian passport holders can now go visa-free or visa-on-arrival to 59 countries. Despite the India Passport falling two ranks in 2024, with the addition of only five visa-on-arrival countries this year, in 2025, the Indian passport’s dominance seems to be increasing.
As per the report released by Henley and Partners on Tuesday, the Passport Index is powered by exclusive Timatic data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The accumulation of data and information helps in ranking all the world’s passports based on the number of destinations their holders can enter without a prior visa.
Malaysia, Indonesia, Maldives, Thailand, and some other countries offer visa-free entry to Indians. While countries like Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, Macau, Myanmar, etc., offer a visa-on-arrival.
The latest report by Henley also revealed that the United Arab Emirates continues to be a standout among the top risers in the 2025 passport index. The Middle Eastern nation went up 34 places over the last 10 years, from 42nd to 8th place. This magnificent feat by the Arab nation makes them the only big riser to break into the Top 10 in the ranking.
On the other hand, China also rose 34 places from 94th to 60th since 2015, which is particularly impressive considering that China has not yet gained visa-free access to Europe’s Schengen Area.
The 2025 Henley Passport Index also signified that Asian countries are rising in the influential passport list, while prominent countries like the UK and the US, which have enjoyed the status of having the most influential passports in the world, seem to struggle.
Singapore stands as one of the most influential passports across the globe, with visa-on-arrival and visa-free entry to 193 out of all the 227 countries.
Asian countries Japan and South Korea share the 2nd position in the Henley Passport Index, with both of them ensuring that their citizens can access 190 countries visa-free.
Furthermore, seven EU passports share the third position, which includes Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Spain, all with access to 189 destinations out of 227 countries.