The Indian passport has experienced a fall in the Passport Index 2023, plummeting six ranks from last year to land at the 144th position. The mobility score this year is 70, and Indians can travel to 21 countries visa-free, need a visa for 128 countries, and can avail of the visa-on-arrival option for 47 countries including Thailand, Maldives, Malaysia, Qatar, Azerbaijan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.
How was it all calculated? The Passport Index is an annual report that is released by financial advisory firm Arton Capital. The rankings are determined based on a country’s mobility score, which is calculated by considering provisions like a visa-free visit, visa on arrival, an eVisa (if used within three days), and electronic travel authorisation, reported Indian Express.
The top spot on the ranking was secured by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with a mobility score of 181, followed by Sweden, Germany, Finland, Luxembourg, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Austria, which all had a joint mobility score of 174.
According to Indian Express this year, the reason for India’s sharp fall in the rankings and the poor performance of other Asian countries is attributed to the change in European Union’s policy. Serbia and other nations have been under pressure to introduce visa requirements for Indian nationals.
What is The Passport Index?
Arton Capital’s Passport Index is a unique tool for ranking passports interactively, and it is the first of its kind worldwide. The platform is continuously updated with the latest visa waivers and changes, making it the only global ranking of passports in real time. The Passport Index has gained worldwide acclaim and has become the go-to source for global mobility intelligence. The site allows visitors to explore passports, sort them by region, colour, and country, and even compare passports side-by-side. Users can also improve their Personal Mobility Score by adding more passports.
How Does It Work?
It includes passports from 193 United Nations member countries and 6 territories, such as ROC Taiwan, Macao (SAR China), Hong Kong (SAR China), Kosovo, Palestinian Territory, and the Vatican. However, territories annexed to other countries, like Norfolk Island (Australia), French Polynesia (France), and British Virgin Islands (Britain), are excluded since they do not issue their own passports.
The Passport Index also considers countries that issue passports, even if they do not enforce independent visa policies. It collects data from official government information, crowdsourcing, and proprietary research from credible sources, as well as passport images submitted by proud citizens. To rank each passport, the Index uses a three-tier method, including Mobility Score (MS), United Nations Development Programme Human Development Index 2018 (UNDP HDI), and visa-free (VF), visa on arrival (VOA), eTA, and eVisa issued within 3 days. The VF portion of their score versus VOA is used as a tiebreaker, while the UNDP HDI measures a country’s perception abroad.
The Passport Index is an exceptional platform for exploring passport designs, sorting passports by country, region, or color, and even comparing passports side by side.
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