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In a good news for Indians, travel for Indian passport holders is becoming easier and more accessible, thanks to the increasing number of visa-free destinations.
The country’s passport has made significant progress this year — jumping eight spots to secure 77th place in the 2025 Henley Passport Index — meaning Indian passport holders can now travel to 59 countries without applying for a visa beforehand, including visa-free, visa-on-arrival, and Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) destinations. Here’s a list of countries based on respective categorisation.
Travel experts say that even a small addition of two countries to India’s visa-free list suggests strategic diplomatic gains.
Stressing that “access is earned”, Henley Passport Index inventor Dr. Christian H Kaelin recently explained, that it “must be maintained through active and strategic diplomacy.”
Visa-Free: Indian passport holders can enter countries under this categorisation without prior visa applications, allowing hassle-free travel once entry conditions are met: valid passport, funds and(or) purpose of visit, among others. Countries like Malaysia, Mauritius, Thailand, and Bhutan fall in this category.
Visa-On-Arrival (VOA): Travellers can obtain the respective visa(s) upon their arrival at the destination by way of submitting documents and paying a fee. This applies to countries like Maldives, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Qatar.
Angola, Barbados, Bhutan, Dominica, Fiji, Grenada, Haiti, Iran, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago, Vanuatu, and more.
Bolivia, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Jordan, Laos, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and others.
Seychelles has been included as a visa-free destination on account of the East African country’s digital travel permit system.
While India rose to 77th with access to 59 countries, leading nations like Singapore topped the list with visa-free access to 193 destinations. Japan and South Korea followed suit quite closely with 190 travel destinations. Interestingly, traditional powerhouses like the US and the UK have slipped down the rankings due to their reportedly more restrictive visa policies.
“Nations that proactively negotiate visa waivers and nurture reciprocal agreements continue to rise, while the opposite applies to those less engaged,” Dr. Kaelin noted.
According to the Henley Passport Index, the nations are graded depending on visa-free travel, visa-on-arrival, or ETA, which is treated as ‘1’ point, whereas e-Visas or pre-travel visas score zero.
The Index, which accounts for 199 passports and 227 destinations, is revised monthly, in what experts describe as a reflection of the way global mobility is changing, with emerging nations such as India, the UAE and China advancing due to growing visa-waiver agreements.
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