Are Mail Order Brides Legal? Find Whether It’s Legal to Get Mail Order Spouses

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.

What Does Mail Order Bride Mean Today?

In the past, “mail order brides” were women who agreed to marry men who lived far away, often in another country or a new settlement. They usually got to know these men through letters or matchmakers before meeting in person.

One of the first known examples happened in early America. The Virginia Company brought young English women to the colony of Jamestown so they could marry male settlers. The colony had many men but very few women, so marriages helped build stable families.

France did something similar by sending women to New France (in today’s Canada) to marry settlers.

Today, these are adult women from countries with fewer economic opportunities who are open to marrying someone from abroad (although you can also meet women from developed countries). It sounds a bit similar to what was in the past, but there are several key differences: 

• Women usually choose partners themselves online (not assigned or shipped).
• They can talk for months by chat or video before meeting.
• Travel and migration laws regulate marriage visas.
• Many relationships start like normal long-distance dating.

Can You Really Mail Order a Bride Legally?

The word “order”, although popular in this industry, doesn’t mean buying a person. 

Order or buy means investing in tools and methods that help find a match. Usually, you have two options—sites and agencies. Since sites are a more affordable option compared to agencies, we will focus on what is more achievable to a broader audience of love seekers.

1. Choose the service. 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.
2. Create a dating profile. When you find such a platform, you create a profile with an attractive photo and a well-written bio. These are key to attracting ladies online, so make your profile as good as possible.
3. Find and chat with single women. Then, with search filters, you find potential women for a mail order bride role and contact them. Men usually use winks, likes, emails, and text messages for initial engagement. When contacting a woman, be slightly creative—a compliment, a note on her interests, or an elegant joke can impress a potential match 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.
4. Choose one and marry her. 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.

What Laws Govern Mail Order Bride Services?

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.

Visa Processes to Go Through When Marrying a Mail Order Bride

U.S. marriage visas allow U.S. citizens to bring a foreign partner through two of the most common ways: the fiancé visa (K-1) and the spouse visa (CR-1).

The K-1 visa is for a foreign fiancé. The American partner first files a petition with U.S. immigration authorities. After approval, the case goes to the U.S. embassy in the foreign partner’s country, where the partner completes a medical exam and attends an interview. If the visa is granted, the fiancé enters the United States, and the couple must legally marry within 90 days. The time to receive the K-1 visa is commonly around one year, while the total costs are typically around $2,500.

Meanwhile, the CR-1 visa is for a couple that is already legally married. The marriage can take place in any country. The process of getting this visa looks like this:

1. The U.S. citizen files a spousal petition, and after approval, the case is processed through the National Visa Center and the U.S. embassy abroad.
2. Then, the foreign spouse completes a medical exam and interview outside the United States.
3. When the CR-1 visa is issued and the spouse enters the United States, permanent resident status is granted automatically, and the physical green card is mailed shortly afterward.

The overall processing time is commonly about one and a half years, while the typical total cost is roughly $1,500-$2,000.

In practical terms, the spouse visa is considered more efficient because it is cheaper and grants permanent resident status right away.

Is the Mail Order Bride Industry Legal Worldwide?

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.

Foreign Bride Industry in the US

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.

Australia—Are Mail Order Brides Illegal There?

In Australia, mail order bride services must comply with the Marriage Act 1961 and immigration laws, particularly:

• Partner Visas: Individuals seeking to bring foreign spouses must meet strict visa requirements.
• Anti-Trafficking Laws: Australia enforces laws to combat exploitation and forced marriages, including the Criminal Code Act 1995.

UK and Foreign Mail Order Brides There

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.

Mail Order Marriages in Canada

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.

Legit Mail Order Bride Sites in 2026

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?

1. It doesn’t make fairytale promises. Seriously, no legitimate mail order bride website can promise you to find love immoderately on their catalog. Many depend on personal connection and how actively you look for a girl.
2. It doesn’t have hidden fees. Non-legit websites will have obscure information about their price rates and additional fees written on the last pages in the smallest shrift.
3. Its audience is versatile, not picture-perfect. If you find a site, and all female profiles there look like Victoria Secrets models, most likely it’s fake.
4. It takes certain measures to protect the privacy of its clients and provides a support team if you have any questions.

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:

• SofiaDate
• SakuraDate
• LatiDate

Are There Ethical Concerns or Risks of Human Trafficking?

The mail order bride industry is carefully regulated in many countries. For instance: 

• The U.S. allows international marriage brokers but regulates them under IMBRA—agencies must verify background information about U.S. male clients to foreign women before sharing their contact details.
• China has periodically banned or limited marriage brokerage with foreigners, especially commercial matchmaking. Yet, international marriages are allowed.
• Vietnam has regulated marriage intermediaries and sometimes suspended them after abuse cases. 

It’s done to prevent abuse and human trafficking of people. Yet, when you are exploring sites online, you can come across not the signs of human trafficking but average scammers who want to steal money or your account. What are common scam examples?

1. Too good to be true. Fake mail order bride profiles often look a bit unrealistic. Too ideal photos, interests in ALL topics possible, a lot of achievements at the age of 20—yes, that may be true for some women, but usually, these are fake accounts. If you doubt the person is real, you can upload their photos on Google Search to see if they don’t belong to other people, because fake accounts often steal others’ identities.
2. Inconsistent stories and “poor memory.” Usually, scam accounts are run by several people, and they may not coordinate the information they receive and send to their victims. Thus, you may notice that your online date keeps forgetting things you tell them or has a different favorite color every day (BPD is not the case here).
3. Love bombing and being agreeable. Scammers understand that to get someone to send you money, you need to make them like and love you. The best way to achieve it is to be the ideal person for them, someone who shares every interest and sends you love messages every day. Be wary when you notice the person you are texting with starts showing love too quickly (basically, the next day after your first chat).
4. Refusing to have audio calls. If you video call a scam account, you will find out it’s not Samantha there, but some Patrick from Illinois. That’s why fake profiles avoid video and audio calls.