Are Mail Order Spouse Illegal—Guide On International Brides
Western men are into foreign women as only around 7,000 mail order brides from Europe came to the USA to marry. Gorgeous beauty, more traditional mentality, and excitement of having no borders to love, make mail order bride sites so in demand. But are mail order brides legal? Can you legally marry mail order brides from Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, or Latvia?
Read on our complete guide and learn are mail order spouse illegal or not and check out our rating of the top mail order bride websites in 2024.
Best sites to find brides and interesting dating opportunities
Site | Region | Sign up |
JollyRomance | best website in European region | Free |
BravoDate | best website in Slavic region | Free |
UkraineBride4you | best website in Slavic region | Free |
Are mail order spouses illegal?
Yes, for the majority of countries, but there are some exceptions. Before you can go and start searching for a beautiful mail order bride from Poland or Ukraine, it’s essential to understand how mail order bride services work and what mail order bride regulations are there.
Here are the most important facts to know about mail order bride legality:
- Mail order brides are a real thing, and around 36,000 foreign women come to the US to get married
- To come to a foreign county mail order brides need some sort of marriage visa, e.g., a K-1 visa in the USA
- A bona fide marriage is the only thing required to make marriages with mail order brides legal in the majority of countries
- Approximately 53 million people use dating sites to find a partner, which makes reliable mail order brides sites such as TheLuckyDate and UkraineBride4you a legit place to find a foreign wife
- Mail order marriages end in divorce less by almost a half, if compared with the US average
But let’s dive deeper and see mail order marriages legal in the top western countries.
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The legality of mail order bride services in the USA
Using mail order bride services and marrying foreign women is legal in the USA. A mail order bride can come to the US legally on a K-1 visa or CR-1 spouse visa.
K-1 visa
- Cost: $535 of the I-129F filing fee, $265 embassy fee + additional costs for a medical exam, etc.
- Estimate processing time: around 7-8 months
It allows an engaged mail order bride to come to the US if the couple intends to get married within 90 days. After marriage now mail order wife can apply for a marriage green card. But note that it’s not a guarantee of getting it.
CR-1 spouse visa
- Cost: Filing Form I-130—$535, DS-260—$325, + medical exam costs, etc.
- Estimate processing time: 4-5 months
Suitable for already married couples (less than 2 years for longer marriages a mail order wife needs to apply for an IR-1 visa).
Are mail order brides legal in Canada?
Yes. Mail order brides are legal in Canada. The country has a similar system of mail order brides’ legality as the US. A Canadian citizen (or a person with permanent residence) can bring a mail order bride from Eastern Europe or any other country through the Family Sponsorship Program. The requirements for it are:
- Being of legal age (at least 18)
- Be a citizen or permanent resident
- Meet income requirements
- Cost: $1,080
- Processing time: up to 12-24 months
The legality of mail order brides in the UK
Great Britain allows mail order bride marriages in the country. A citizen can bring a mail order bride with Marriage Visitor visa which is good for up to 6 months. Applying for the Marriage Visitor visa you must:
- Proof that your relationship with the mail order bride is real
- Meet minimum income
- Cost: £100 to apply
- Processing time: around 3 weeks
But if have a foreign mail order wife and want to bring her to the UK, you need a Family Visa instead of the Marriage Visitor visa.
The legal side of mail order brides in Australia
It’s legal to bring your foreign bride and marry in Australia if you are a citizen of the country. To bring your future spouse to Australia you need to apply for a Prospective Marriage visa which allows applying for a Partner visa later on.
- Cost: from 8,085 AUD
- Processing time: 8-35 months
To apply for the Australian Prospective Marriage visa you need to be 18 or over, have a sponsor to meet income requirements, and intend to marry an Australian citizen within 9-15 months after the visa has been granted.
Where can you find foreign mail order brides?
Eastern Europe, especially Ukraine, Poland, and Latvia, are popular mail order bride destinations. But where can you meet gorgeous mail order brides from these countries? Let’s explore all the options you have.
Traveling abroad
You can travel to a particular country and find a beautiful girl who will be interested in such a relationship. For example, Ukraine has simple mail order bride legality and marriage is not a challenging legal procedure after which you can bring your mail order spouse to the US on a CR-1 visa.
But offline search comes with a bunch of downsides:
- Spending money on traveling and staying in the country
- You need to put off at least 2 weeks for mail order bride search
- Language barrier (in some countries)
- No guarantees
International dating sites
Another option to find mail order brides legal way is to join one of the international dating sites, like MeetSlavicGirls, TheLuckyDate and SofiaDate, or international marriage agencies. The benefits of using an international marriage agency or website are:
- Many women looking for foreign husbands and boyfriends
- A convenient way of dating
- No traveling is required initially
But the downsides are:
- The majority of foreign brides are not looking for marriage
- There is a risk of scam on online dating sites
Mail order bride sites
Specialized mail order bride sites are the most effective way to meet a foreign bride who is looking for serious relationships, a potential foreign husband, and is willing to move abroad. Niche specialization allows you not to pick only Eastern European women that share your dating goals.
How to pick a legit online dating site
Even though specialized mail order bride websites are the most effective in terms of legit mail order brides search, a lot depends on a particular dating site. To pick the best option among online dating sites with mail order brides we recommend:
- Use the professional recommendations and read reviews
- Don’t join dating sites that look badly developed
- Check if profiles of mail order spouses look real and have verification
The mail order bride industry is a service and to provide high-quality, the majority of dating sites, like UkraineBride4you, are fully or partly paid. Generally, we don’t recommend registering to free mail order brides platforms as they have a higher level of scam and lower security and privacy level. But they also might have legal mail order brides.
Countries that consider mail order brides illegal
Before you start picking a country with mail order bride services it’s important to learn where in the world are mail order spouses illegal.
The Philippines considers mail order brides illegal
Most Asian brides can legally marry abroad, but according to the anti-mail-order bride law (Republic Act No. 6955), organizing relationships and marriages with Philipino mail order brides are illegal.
Is that a problem? No! The law doesn’t prohibit the work of foreign mail order bride agencies which makes Filipino mail order spouses legal. In fact, the Philippines is the most popular mail order bride destination with 7,134 fiances coming to the US to marry in 2019.
Turkmenistan doesn’t find mail order brides legal
Well, foreign husbands can marry a Turkmenistan mail order bride but only if they are willing to pay $50,000, under the Turkmen government, Resolution 3407, but even though after that the fee was scrapped, the number of K 1 visas issued for Turkmen mail order brides was only 6.
Belarus tries to make mail order spouses illegal
The President of Belarus also wanted to make mail order bride services and mail order brides illegal in the country. But as there is no Belarus mail order bride service, just United States marriage agencies, searching for foreign women from Belarus is legal.
What laws protect mail-order spouses abroad?
As mail order brides regardless of what country of Eastern Europe, Asia, or Latin America they come from are more vulnerable, the international dating and marriage law protects them.
Unfortunately, not all men have high moral grounds and want to abuse the situation where a foreign bride is dependent. To protect immigrant wives from domestic violence and various types of abuse there are 2 main laws:
- The International Marriage Broker Regulation Act (IMBRA)—the law protects and informs all foreign brides of their rights. It makes the criminal background check obligatory, and doesn’t allow a foreign husband to file more than 2 K 1 visas in their life.
- The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)—the law protects victims of domestic violence and helps even with getting Green Card without the husband’s notification, especially useful if a spouse threatens with deportation.
Even if a mail order bride doesn’t speak English under IMBRA and VAWA she will still be notified about the mail order spouse legal rights.
Conclusion
Is getting a mail order spouse illegal? No. In the majority of countries, the mail order bride industry is fully legal. Also, there are strict mail order bride regulations that make mail order bride service safe for both spouses and the country.
So, if you like such a way of finding love and want to marry foreign women from Ukraine, Poland, Moldova, or other countries, join one of the reputable mail order bride platforms.
Sources of information
[1] – https://travel.state.gov/ (FY 2019)
[2] – https://www.statista.com/
[3] – https://cis.org/
[4] – https://www.uscis.gov/
[5] – https://travel.state.gov/ (Visa Services Fees)
[6] – https://www.uscis.gov/ (Filling Form)
[7] – https://travel.state.gov/ (DS-260)
[8] – https://www.canada.ca/
[9] – https://www.gov.uk/
[10] – https://www.gov.uk/ (Family Visa)
[11] – https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/
[12] – https://en.wikipedia.org/
[13] – https://travel.state.gov/ (IMBRA)
[14] – https://nnedv.org/