2025 Henley Passport Index: India Falls to 85th Rank as Singapore Maintains Top Position

The Henley Passport Index serves as a global ranking system that evaluates nations based on their citizens' freedom of mobility.

India has dropped to the 85th position in the 2025 Henley Passport Index, now providing visa-free access to 57 countries. This represents a decline from its previous ranking of 80th in the prior year, when Indian passport holders enjoyed visa-free travel to 62 destinations.

Singapore maintains its top position as the world's most powerful passport, offering visa-free access to 193 countries. South Korea follows in second place with 190 countries, while Japan holds the third position with visa-free access to 189 nations.

The fourth position is shared by Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, and Switzerland, all providing visa-free access to 188 countries. Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, and the Netherlands collectively occupy the fifth rank, allowing their citizens to travel without visas to 187 countries.

Hungary, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden share the sixth position, offering visa-free access to 186 nations. Australia, Czechia, Malta, and Poland are ranked seventh with visa-free access to 185 countries.

Croatia, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom jointly hold the eighth position with visa-free access to 184 countries. Canada secures the ninth rank with visa-free access to 183 nations.

Latvia and Liechtenstein complete the top 10, providing visa-free access to 182 countries.

The United States ranks 12th alongside Malaysia, offering visa-free access to 180 countries. This marks the first time the US has fallen outside the top 10 on the index.

In the previous year, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Singapore shared the top position with 194 visa-free destinations, while the US held the seventh position with visa-free access to 188 countries.

In the 2025 index, India shares the 85th rank with Mauritania. Countries that do not require visas for Indian passport holders include Angola, Barbados, Bhutan, Bolivia, British Virgin Islands, Burundi, Cambodia, Indonesia, Iran, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Malaysia, Maldives, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

Among India's neighboring countries, Pakistan is ranked 103rd with visa-free access to 31 countries, Bangladesh is 100th with 38 visa-free destinations, Nepal is 101st with access to 36 nations, and Bhutan is 92nd with visa-free access to 50 countries. Sri Lanka holds the 98th position, allowing its citizens to travel to 41 visa-free destinations.

Afghanistan has the world's weakest passport, providing visa-free access to only 24 countries, followed by Syria and Iraq with 26 and 29 visa-free destinations respectively.

The Henley Passport Index is a comprehensive global ranking of nations according to the freedom of mobility granted by their standard passports to their citizens. It was originally introduced in 2005 as the Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index before being renamed to the Henley Passport Index in January 2018.