Indian passport gets stronger with its ranking from 90th rank to 83rd. The upgrade is witnessed in the time span of a year. According to Henley Passport Index, in 2021 people with Indian passport were allowed to enter 58 countries without visa but since in 2022, the passport has climber eight places on the list, now people holding Indian passports can travel 60 countries without visa formalities. As per the data based on International Air Transport Association (IATA), Oman is one of the countries, that has been added on the list of Indians to visa free entry in the country. After 2006, India has added 35 new locations on the list.
People holding passports of Singapore and Japan can travel 192 countries without visa which is the maximum till now. These passports are considered strongest. Whereas passports of Germany and South Korea are the second strongest that allows citizens to travel 190 countries. Afghani passports sits at last on the total number of 199 passports. Fiji, Iran, Jordan, Serbia, Jamaica, Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka are some of the countries Indians can enter freely.
Varun Thakur who is currently pursuing post-graduation is a travel bee. Except India, he has traveled many places around the world before Covid. Due to Covid, he is figuring on how to start it all once again. He told Eat News, ‘Before 2020, I traveled solo, in groups, friends, family. But now waiting for situation to get better. I have travelled 14 to 15 countries till now, but there is long way to go.’ He shared his love for travelling and said, ‘After I completed my school studies, I wanted to go on a solo trip to refresh my mind from all the exam stress. On my trip to South India, I realized wandering and looking for new adventures is what I passionately want. No second thoughts, from then. During my bachelors I took several trips all over India and other countries.’
Who are actually benefitted from this upgrade status of Indian passport is Travel influencers. Travelling new places, eating new food, exploring different culture, is what we all dream of. Travel influencers are living this dream with not much financial stress. Their associated companies or the organizations who they work for, sponsor their trips. But there are few of them, who travel completely for own sake. Varun said, ‘Wherever I have travelled so far, it’s the savings I done from my part time jobs. I work so I can travel. Yes, lot of people put their trips on social media platforms or record their journey, but I don’t like it that way. I like to keep it private because I travel for myself. No business or work related.’
On commenting on passport status, he said, ‘Yes, it is brilliant that we are getting stronger. Visa formalities are difficult and exhausting sometimes. And plus, I have middle east on my Wishlist. Another middle east country got visa free for Indian passport holders is a thumbs up.’ Recalling one of his toughest decisions he told Eat News, ‘After my Bachelors, I planned to pursue work full time and can travel. But due to covid, my plans failed and had nothing in my hand. My parents told me to pursue higher studies until I have time and that is why I enrolled for my Masters. Now I am waiting eagerly for conditions to get better so that I can resume my journey again’.
Certain rules are issued by administrations of different countries in overstaying after visa expiry. For instance, in U.S. visa overstayers can be restricted to enter the country for next 10 years under the ‘unlawful presence’, in Canada one can be arrested and be issued removal order while in Germany, punishment from German Residence court is a fine to one year imprisonment. Considering India, overstaying can lead to penalty or imprisonment upto 5 years. It can also result into ban from entering the country.
Varun shared one of his travel stories and said, ‘Once, I planned to travel some of the middle east countries. But it was difficult to get visa. I cut short several of them and later finalized Turkey. Once I landed there, I did not regret a single day. Beautiful country with humble people all around. The food, culture, it all scented vintage. During the whole trip, I was wandering on streets and did not think of resting at hotel for once. It was me stepping out early in the morning and coming back late in night. Sunset in turkey was the best part I came across. Looking at it made me think, thank god I came on this trip’.
Every year millions of foreign tourists visit India and same goes with Indians. India is the 8th most visited nation in the Asia and 22th nation in world. In terms of most loved country, Singapore, UAE and United Kingdom receive maximum number of Indian tourists every year. Perhaps, Indian passport getting stronger is good news for Hodophiles, but who knows can also convince others to pack their bags and go on a trip to a new country.
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