For international travelers, India continues to be a top destination for exploration and discovery. But what about the country’s standing in terms of its citizens’ travel freedom? The Henley Passport Index 2023 is a global ranking of countries based on the number of destinations their citizens can access without a visa. Where does India stand on this list? lets find out
India’s standing on the Henley Passport Index 2023 is an interesting topic of discussion. The Henley Passport Index is a global ranking of countries according to the travel freedom it offers its citizens. This index shows how powerful a passport is and reveals which countries offer the most extensive visa-free access. As of April 2021, India ranks 79th on the Henley Passport Index with 59 destinations available for visa-free travel. This number places India close to other South Asian countries such as Bangladesh (78th) and Nepal (72nd).
However, India has seen significant progress over recent years in terms of global rankings. In 2015, it was placed at 75th place with only 50 countries offering visa-free access, compared to 59 now. Since India has improved from last year, the Indian passport ranked 87, while the number of countries to which its holders currently have access to a visa-free entry point now decreased by one. Indian passport holders will no longer be able to visit Serbia for free for a period of 90 days due to the increasing number of immigrants in the accessing country.
London-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners has released the Henley Passport Index for the year 2023, based on exclusive data provided by the International Air Transport Association (IATA)
“The index includes 199 passports and 227 travel destinations, giving users the most extensive and reliable information about their global access and mobility,” it said. The index’s scoring system was developed to give users a nuanced, practical, and reliable overview of their passport’s power. Each passport is scored on the total number of destinations that the holder can access visa-free, it said.
Indian passport holders can go to 59 countries visa-free, including Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Macao, the Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Kenya, Mauritius, Seychelles, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Iran, and Qatar. However, you may need to get visa-on-arrival on certain countries.
for those who hold Australian Passports, then pack your bags to most of the destinations around the world. Australia is one of the most powerful passports in the world. Australians can travel to 191 countries around the world, visa free or with a visa on arrival
Top 10 passport rankings:
Passport holders in these countries can travel internationally with relative ease.
- 1st: Japan — visa-free score: 193
- 2nd: Singapore and South Korea — visa-free score: 192
- 3rd: Germany and Spain — visa-free score: 190
- 4th: Finland, Italy and Luxembourg — visa-free score: 189
- 5th: Austria, Denmark, Netherlands and Sweden — visa-free score: 188
- 6th: France, Ireland, Portugal and the United Kingdom — visa-free score: 187
- 7th: Belgium, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and the United States — visa-free score: 186
- 8th: Australia, Canada, Greece and Malta — visa-free score: 185
- 9th: Hungary and Poland — visa-free score: 184
- 10th: Lithuania and Slovakia — visa-free score: 183
