Every man, before dating and marrying mail order brides, faces the question of whether such unions are even legal. Misconceptions connected with human trafficking and other stuff contribute to raising worry on this matter.
However, we can assure you that mail order brides are legal in almost all countries, although some may have strict regulations or ban the industry. Yet, mail order bride marriage is just a marriage between people of different national and cultural backgrounds, and when proven so, can be completely legitimate in every country.
The trick here is the word “order.” It’s quite popular in this niche but doesn’t mean what you think. Order or buy means investing in tools and methods that help find a potentiometer mail order bride, such as specialized websites or international marriage agencies. You can’t just show some imaginary cashier a girl you like on the site, and he will send you her without her consent.
How do you order a wife legally? We said you have two options—sites and agencies. Sites are a more affordable option compared to agencies, so we will focus on what is more achievable to a broader audience of love seekers.
You find a site that fits your needs, such as communication tools (not all websites can provide video chats, for example), audience (some services focus on Latin dating, others on Slavic, and so on), and other additional features if necessary: translation tools, profile boost opportunity, detailed filters, etc.
When you find such a platform, you create a profile with an attractive photo and a well-written bio. These are key to attracting girls, so make sure you make your profile as good as possible.
And then, with search filters, you find potential girls for a mail order bride role and contact them. Men usually use winks, likes, emails, and text messages for initial engagement. When entering her directly, be slightly creative—a compliment, note on her interests, or an elegant joke can impress a potential girl and make her remember you. Further, different “stay in touch” tools and techniques should be implemented in communication. What does it mean? It’s about video chats, online dates (such as virtual tours or movie nights), discovering more about each other’s cultures, and so on.
Now, imagine you are ready for an offline meeting, and after several such trips together, you decide to marry. You go through a visa process to bring your mail order bride to your country and marry.
As you understand, all these stages don’t come without financial investment, and this is what “ordering” a mail bride means.
This is how you do it legally—chat, meet, apply for a visa, and marry.
Mail order bride websites and services are subject to various laws and regulations that aim to protect the rights of mail order brides.
So, is mail order brides legal in States? In the USA, there are two main regulations you will deal with when getting a mail order wife: VAWA and IMBRA.
As for VAWA, Immigrant victims of abuse (women, actually, because this law protects women from violence) can access VAWA protections, ensuring they have avenues for safety and legal recourse.
Meanwhile, according to IMBRA, marriage brokers must conduct criminal background checks on U.S. citizens or permanent residents seeking to use the service.
Also, these agencies must provide foreign clients with information about their potential U.S. partner’s criminal history and marital status.
Although the mail order bride industry is legal almost everywhere, it implies different procedures everywhere. Also, some countries ban marriage brokers despite allowing international marriages in general.
As for the US, we have already explained that two regulations—VAWA and IMBRA—regulate the mail order bride industry. You will face the results of these regulations when applying for a fiancée visa, for example, you will need to go through a background check, which is one of the rules of these acts.
In Australia, mail order bride services must comply with the Marriage Act 1961 and immigration laws, particularly:
Are mail order spouse illegal? The UK also allows the mail order bride industry, but it also implemented specific policies to protect immigrant spouses facing domestic abuse, including those in marriages arranged through international matchmaking services. For example, they have the Domestic Violence Rule (DV Rule), under which immigrant spouses or partners of British citizens or settled persons can apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) if their relationship ends due to domestic violence.
What about Canada? Are mail order spouses real and legal in this country? Yes! But like the USA, Canada has specific laws that protect foreign victims of marriage abuse. For example, they have a Family Violence Prevention Program that funds shelters and resources for Indigenous and immigrant women experiencing family violence.
However, as we said, some countries do ban or heavily limit the work of mail order bride services. The most vivid example of this is in the Philippines.
In the Philippines, The Anti-Mail Order Bride Law (Republic Act No. 6955) makes it illegal to engage in or promote the business of matching Filipino women with foreign nationals for marriage. It happened in the 1990s when the media started reporting stories of Asian mail order brides from the Philippines being abused by their foreign partners.
Where else is having a mail order spouse illegal? There are countries that prohibit international marriages. For example, in Saudi Arabia, men can’t marry foreign women from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Chad, and Myanmar. Also, it can be problematic to get a girl from a Muslim country with severe religious impact: women not only are not allowed to marry non-Muslims, but in severe regimes, their rights are highly limited, so you will have low chances of even finding such girls on international dating sites.
To make your mail order bride journey safe and legit, you need to find sites according to these requirements. What does a legitimate website look like?
Where to find such websites? Our experts analyzed the online mail order bride market and made a list of discreet websites that can provide a safe space for finding mail order brides:
Becoming or getting a mail order bride is completely ethical because it’s just about finding a partner from another country. Yet, many think it’s connected to human trafficking because of this “order” which is just the historical remnant and has nothing to do with purchasing and human trafficking.
Also, concerns are raised because of the fraud in this system: some scam sites hire girls to chat with men, but you can easily avoid such a misfortunate experience by carefully examining the potential websites and making a wise decision.
Yet, we don’t deny that some international brides on such dating sites may not be legal or real at all. How to make sure to choose mail order brides real and not become a victim of scams or even human trafficking?
Firstly, before contacting girls, you need to inspect their profiles. Do their photos look AI-made? Do their bios contain inconsistencies? (As for photos, you can also use Google image search to check whether these photos don’t belong to another person)
When chatting, pay attention to what they say about themselves. If their answers don’t look genuine and stories seem to be inconsistent, they may be fake. Also, the biggest red flag to watch out for when you chat with a bride from a foreign country is the request for money. Sob stories about car accidents or illness are quite a popular technique.
To see if a person is not pretending to be someone else, you can invite them to a video chat. Scammers usually use other people’s identities and don’t agree to have video calls.