Lok Sabha Question No. 254 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-03
Subject: Henley Global Passport Index
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Rajiv Pratap Rudy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.254 TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.02.2021

## HENLEY GLOBAL PASSPORT INDEX

## 254 SHRI RAJIV PRATAP RUDY:

Will the Minister of External Affairs be pleased to state:

- (a) whether   India's   rank   on   the   Henley   Global   Passport   Index   has reduced in the latest edition of the rankings;
- (b) if so, the reasons therefor;
- (c) the details of the steps being taken by the Government to boost India's ranking on the Henley Global Passport Index;
- (d) the list   of   countries   that   guarantee   Visa-Free   access   or   Visa-onarrival to visiting Indian nationals along with the status of reciprocal access; and
- (e) whether the Government is negotiating with  other countries   on improving the strength of the Indian Passport and if so, details thereof?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS [SHRI V. MURALEEDHARAN]

(a) As per information available on the website www.henleypassportindex.com, the Henley Passport Index ranks all the passports of the world according to the number of countries their holders can travel to visa free. The ranking is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association and lists the countries that can be accessed visa-free, with an electronic visa [e-TA] or with a Visa-on-Arrival. As per the Henley Passport Index available on the website for Q1 2021, India is ranked at 85.

(b), (c) & (d) Extension of Visa free entry and Visa-on-Arrival is a unilateral decision of the receiving country. The Government has been continually   making   efforts   to   increase   number   of   countries   that   may provide Visa free travel and Visa-on-Arrival facilities with an objective of further increasing the number of countries extending Visa free and Visaon-Arrival facilities to Indian nationals and also in promoting investments and tourism into India from other countries.

There   are   16   countries   which   provide   Visa-free   entry   to   Indian passport holders (List enclosed as Annexure-I) and 43 countries which

provide Visa-on-Arrival facility to Indian Passport holders (List enclosed as Annexure-II).

(e) While issuance of visa and visa related process is the sovereign and unilateral decision of the respective country, the matter regarding easier and liberalized visa policy for Indian nationals is taken up regularly in bilateral meetings/ forums with foreign countries.

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## Annexure- I to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 254

## Foreign countries which provide Visa-free entry to Indian citizens

|   S.No | Country Name                   |
|--------|--------------------------------|
|      1 | Barbados                       |
|      2 | Bhutan                         |
|      3 | Dominica                       |
|      4 | Grenada                        |
|      5 | Haiti                          |
|      6 | Hong Kong SAR                  |
|      7 | Maldives                       |
|      8 | Mauritius                      |
|      9 | Montserrat                     |
|     10 | Nepal                          |
|     11 | Niue Island                    |
|     12 | Saint Vincent & the Grenadines |
|     13 | Samoa                          |
|     14 | Senegal                        |
|     15 | Serbia                         |
|     16 | Trinidad & Tobago              |

## Annexure- II to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 254

## Foreign countries which provide Visa-on-Arrival entry to Indian citizens

|   S.No | Country Name            | S.No   | Country Name                 |
|--------|-------------------------|--------|------------------------------|
|      1 | Angola                  | 23.    | Niue Island                  |
|      2 | Bolivia                 | 24.    | Qatar                        |
|      3 | Cabo Verde              | 25.    | Republic of Marshall Islands |
|      4 | Cambodia                | 26.    | Reunion Island               |
|      5 | Cameroon Union Republic | 27.    | Rwanda                       |
|      6 | Cook Islands            | 28.    | Saint Kitts & Nevis          |
|      7 | Djibouti                | 29.    | Saint Lucia                  |
|      8 | Ethiopia                | 30.    | Samoa                        |
|      9 | Fiji                    | 31.    | Senegal                      |
|     10 | Guinea Bissau           | 32.    | Seychelles                   |
|     11 | Indonesia               | 33.    | Somalia                      |
|     12 | Iran                    | 34.    | Sri Lanka                    |
|     13 | Jamaica                 | 35.    | Suriname                     |
|     14 | Jordan                  | 36.    | Tajikistan                   |
|     15 | Kenya                   | 37.    | Tanzania                     |
|     16 | Kiribati                | 38.    | Thailand                     |
|     17 | Laos                    | 39.    | Tunisia                      |
|     18 | Madagascar              | 40.    | Tuvalu                       |
|     19 | Mauritania              | 41.    | Vanuatu                      |
|     20 | Mongolia                | 42.    | Vietnam                      |
|     21 | Myanmar                 | 43.    | Zimbabwe                     |
|     22 | Nigeria                 |        |                              |

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