India’s passport status has dramatically improved, moving up 5 ranks from last year to 80th in the most recent Henley Passport Index. Due to this, Indian nationals can visit 57 countries with no need for a visa or with a pre-arranged visa on arrival.

Republic of Singapore

The Republic of Singapore has been ranked top in the most recent Henley Password Index, allowing its citizens visa-free entry to 192 countries out of 227 International locations as of 2023. Since 2014, Singapore has consistently been in the top five. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) data provides the foundation for the Henley Passport Index, which annually ranks the world’s passports. The index is created by assessing the number of places that citizens of a nation’s passport can travel to without a previous visa.

Additionally, nations like Indonesia, Thailand, and Rwanda grant visas on arrival and visa-free travel to bearers of Indian passports. However, 177 international locations, including China, Japan, Russia, the United States, and the entirety of the European Union, require a visa for entry for citizens of India. India gets a low mobility score as a result of this onerous visa requirement.

 

India advances seven places

India, which was ranked 87th in 2022, rose to take the 80th spot in the Henley Passport Index for 2023. 57 countries are now visa-free for holders of Indian passports. Afghanistan has the lowest position on the index (103), and 27 countries do not require a visa for travel there.

Additionally, nations like Indonesia, Thailand, and Rwanda allow visitors with Indian passports entry without a visa and grant them one at the airport. To access 177 countries and territories, including China, Japan, Russia, the United States, and the entirety of the European Union, Indian nationals must obtain a visa. India has received a low ranking in mobility as a result of this onerous visa requirement.

 

The degree of travel freedom

The Henley Passport Index lists the passports of 199 nations and 227 international locations. Along with a historical record of the previous 18 years to understand the changes in passport power, it provides insight on the degree of travel freedom a nation offers.

According to the list released by London-based immigration consultant Henley & Partners, Japan fell to third place after five years at the top as the number of places its passport may access without a visa increased.

The United States, which formerly topped the list over ten years ago, slipped two spots to eighth place. Following a Brexit-related decline, the UK climbed two spots to fourth, a spot it last held in 2017.

The International Air Transport Association’s statistics are used to calculate Henley’s ranking. The methodology is different from previous passport indexes, such as the one released by financial advisory Arton Capital the previous year that positioned the United Arab Emirates first.

 

Concerning the Henley Passport Index

 

The Henley Passport Index, sometimes known as HPI, ranks nations based on how freely their residents are able to travel using their regular passports. It debuted in 2006 under the name Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index (HVRI), and in January 2018, its name was changed.

The number of nations that holders of each of the 199 passports in the world can visit without a visa is ranked annually in the index. The “score” of a passport’s ability to travel without a visa is determined by the number of nations it can enter. Henley & Partners has examined the visa policies of nearly all of the world’s countries and territories since 2006 in partnership with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and utilising official information from their global database.

     

Countries’ lists:

Barbados

Bhutan

Bolivia

British Virgin Islands

Burundi

Cambodia

Cape Verde Islands

Comoro Islands

Djibouti *

Dominica

El Salvador

Fiji

Gabon

Grenada

Guinea-Bissau

Haiti

Indonesia *

Iran *

Jamaica

Jordan *

Kazakhstan

Laos

Macao (SAR, China)

Madagascar *

Maldives

Marshall Islands

Mauritania *

Mauritius

Micronesia

Montserrat

Mozambique *

Myanmar *

Nepal

Niue

Oman

Palau Islands

Qatar

Rwanda *

Samoa *

Senegal

Seychelles *

Sierra Leone

Somalia

Sri Lanka

St. Kitts and Nevis

St. Lucia

St. Vincent

Tanzania *

Thailand *

Timor-Leste *

Togo *

Trinidad and Tobago

Tunisia

Tuvalu

Vanuatu

Zimbabwe