What the term passport mean for you? For most of us it is a document or a legal document and to be more precise a travel document which is usually issued by a country’s government to its citizen. Passport certifies the identity and nationality of the holder mainly during international travel. Everyone desires of an international travel and most of us perceive that the most important thing required for an international travel is Visa. Yes with no doubt Visa is necessary but you will be rather surprised to know that your passport can let you travel in some countries without any Visa. Yes without visa!!
There are many countries that provide visa free entry for Indians. If you are keen to know about visa free countries for Indian Passport then this immigration news is brought to you by True Scoop news.
This article will let you know about the countries where you can travel without visa on Indian passport and countries that provide visa on arrival for Indians.
According to Passport Index, A passport ranking tool in the world, Indian passport is ranked at 53rd place. With this you can visit 17 countries without requirement of visa and 34 countries with visa-on-arrival.
How passports are ranked?
The very first question can arise that how passports are ranked. Passports around the world are ranked by the Passport Index firm based on how powerful they are how many countries you can travel to with them. The website of the firm lists details about passports from all countries of the world. The country list is based on the 193 members of United Nations and other six territories which belong to other countries.
Passports around the world are ranked on the basis of their Mobility score. Mobility Score (MS) is the total number of countries that can be easily accessed with a given passport. It is a calculated total based on Visa-free, Visa-on-arrival, eTA, and eVisa issued within 3 days.
Before moving ahead lets understand the terms Visa Free, Visa-on-arrival and eVisa.
They are documents that are issued by a government that grants permission to foreigners looking to visit the respective country. Unlike passports that act as proof of your country of origin, visas are markers that state the time period for which you will be allowed to remain in the foreign country.
Visa-free:
Visa-free travel is the benefit where you can visit a country without having to obtain a visa. This is applicable if the two countries in question have an agreement for the same, or if the country one is visiting has opened its borders to foreign nationals unilaterally. For example Nepal is a visa free country for Indian citizen. It provides visa free entry for Indians. Similarly Bhutan is also a visa free country for Indian citizen.In total there are 17 visa free country for Indian passport.
Visa-on-arrival:
Also known as an on-arrival visa, these are granted to a visitor at the port of entry. The entire process of issuing the visa is initiated and completed at the port of entry government authorities. For example Ethiopia is a country that provide visa on arrival for Indians. Similarly Bahrain is one of those countries that provide visa on arrival for Indian passport. In total there are 34 countries that allow visa on arrival for Indian passport.
eVisa:
e-Visas are, in essence, official documents issued online by a country’s immigration official that grant visitors with permission to enter it. These are an alternative to the regular paper-based visas that are issued by a country’s embassy.
eTA:
An Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) is a new entry requirement for visa exempt foreign nationals flying to or transiting through Canada.
As per Global Passport Power Rank 2020, the mobility score of Indian passport is 53. Indian passport offers 17 visa free countries for citizens of India and 34 visa on arrival countries for Indians. Visa on arrival countries for Indian passport includes Iran, Indonesia and Myanmar.
As per a Rajya Sabha comment from Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan, 36 countries offer e-visa facility to Indian passport holders as well, including Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Malaysia.
Most Powerful Passports in the world
For a country to have the strongest passport in the world, it has to be welcomed by other countries. In other words, the more countries that welcome the passport holder of a particular country — without a visa, with visa on arrival, or with a visa in advance — the higher it goes in the rankings. Earlier United States of America (USA) and United Kingdom (UK) were at the top in list of the most powerful passport in the world. But because of Covid there has been a shuffle in the position.
According to Passport Index 1st position is occupied by Germany. The mobility score of Passport of Germany is 135. It offers 98 countries without visa and 34 countries with visa-on-arrival.
The second position is occupied by Sweden. Mobility score of Sweden passport is 134 and offers 98 countries without visa and 33 countries with visa-on-arrival. Earlier Sweden was at 3rd place.
3rd position is shared by 4 countries collectively. These are Finland, Luxembourg, Spain and New Zealand.
4th position is shared by 8 countries i.e. Denmark, Austria, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, South Korea and Ireland.
5th position is shared by 7 countries i.e. Netherlands, Belgium, France, Greece, Lithuania, United Kingdom and Japan. Few months back Japan was at the top of the list and now from first position it is pushed back to 5th position by Germany.
United States of America (USA) holds 18th place in the list.
Currently pandemic has reduced the mobility around the world to a great extent and the list keeps on changing in accordance to the latest trends. The passport ranking is based on real-time, visa restrictions, factoring in legislative changes, and entry requirements.
Least Powerful passport in the world
There are some countries whose passports offer least visits without visa. In the list of least powerful passport the bottom place is shared by Afghanistan and Iraq with mobility score 30. The passport offers only 4 countries without visa.
Countries like Syria, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Palestinian Territory, Nepal, Libya, and North Korea are also among the list of least powerful passport in the world.
India Ranking
Indian passport offers 17 countries without visa and 34 countries with visa-on-arrival. This means there are 17 countries that are visa free for citizens of India and there are 34 countries that provide visa on arrival for Indians. Here’s the full list of the countries.
Top 10 visa free countries for Indian Passport
Here is the list of visa free countries for Indian passport.
1. Barbados
A perfect place for your holiday. Barbados, island country in the southeastern Caribbean Sea, situated about 100 miles (160 km) east of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Roughly triangular in shape, the island measures some 20 miles (32 km) from northwest to southeast and about 15 miles (25 km) from east to west at its widest point. The capital and largest town is Bridgetown, which is also the main seaport.
2. Bhutan
Bhutan, country of south-central Asia, located on the eastern ridges of the Himalayas. Historically a remote kingdom, Bhutan became less isolated in the second half of the 20th century, and consequently the pace of change began to accelerate. With improvements in transportation, by the early 21st century a trip from the Indian border to the Bhutanese capital, Thimphu that once took six days by mule could be made in just a few hours by car along a winding mountain road from the border town of Phuntsholing.
3. Dominica
Dominica is a small, fertile island in the eastern Caribbean Sea. Its closest neighbours are the French islands of Guadeloupe and Marie-Galante, to the north, and Martinique, to the south. The island was formed from volcanic activity. It has a range of high mountains covered in forests. It still has several active volcanoes.
4. Grenada
Grenada is a small island country of volcanic origin in the eastern Caribbean. It lies just 160 kilometres north of Venezuela. Grenada has a ridge of mountains that run from north to south with steep valleys. It also features large areas of tropical rainforest. Some of the Southern Grenadines islands are a dependency of Grenada, meaning it has political control.
5. Haiti
Haiti, country in the Caribbean Sea that includes the western third of the island of Hispaniola and such smaller islands as Gonâve, Tortue (Tortuga), Grande Caye, and Vache. The capital is Port-au-Prince.
6. Hong Kong SAR
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (HKSAR), is a metropolitan area and special administrative region of the People's Republic of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta of the South China Sea.
7. Maldives
A dream place for every traveler. The Maldives is a nation of islands in the Indian Ocean, that spans across the equator. The country is comprised of 1192 islands that stretch along a length of 871 kilometers. While the country covers an area of approximately 90,000 square kilometers, only 298 square kilometers of that is dry land.
8. Mauritius
Mauritius, island country in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa. Physiographically, it is part of the Mascarene Islands. The capital is Port Louis.
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9. Montserrat
Montserrat is a British Overseas Territory (BOT) in the Caribbean. The island is in the Leeward Islands, which is part of the chain known as the Lesser Antilles, in the West Indies. Montserrat measures approximately 16 km (10 mi) in length and 11 km (7 mi) in width, with approximately 40 km (25 mi) of coastline.[3] Montserrat is nicknamed "The Emerald Isle of the Caribbean" both for its resemblance to coastal Ireland and for the Irish ancestry of many of its inhabitants.
10. Nepal
Nepal, country of Asia, lying along the southern slopes of the Himalayan mountain ranges. It is a landlocked country located between India to the east, south, and west and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north. Its territory extends roughly 500 miles (800 kilometers) from east to west and 90 to 150 miles from north to south. The capital is Kathmandu.
Apart from these 10 countries there are 7 more countries that are visa free countries for citizen. Here is the list:
- 11. Niue Island
- 12. Samoa
- 13. Senegal
- 14. Trinidad and Tobago
- 15. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- 16. Serbia
- 17. Jamaica
Here is the list of visa on arrival countries for Indians:
In total there are 34 countries that provide visa on arrival for Indian passport. Check the list here.
- 1. Bahrain
- 2. Bolivia
- 3. Cape Verde
- 4. Comoros
- 5. Djibouti
- 6. Ethiopia
- 7. Gabon
- 8. Guinea
- 9. Guinea-Bissau
- 10. Iran
- 11. Kenya
- 12. Lesotho
- 13. Madagascar
- 14. Malawi
- 15. Maldives
- 16. Mauritania
- 17. Mozambique
- 18. Myanmar
- 19. Nigeria
- 20. Palau
- 21. Rwanda
- 22. Saint Lucia
- 23. Samoa
- 24. Seychelles
- 25. Sierra Leone
- 26. Somalia
- 27. Suriname
- 28. Tanzania
- 29. Togo
- 30. Tuvalu
- 31. Uganda
- 32. Uzbekistan
- 33. Zimbabwe
- 34. Laos