View source for Mail-order bride

{{Short description|Woman who advertises for marriage}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Other uses|Mail Order Bride (disambiguation)}}
A '''mail-order bride''' is a woman who lists herself in catalogs and is selected by a man for marriage. In the twentieth century, the trend primarily involved women living in [[developing country|developing countries]] seeking men from more developed nations. Men who list themselves in such publications are referred to as "mail-order husbands", although this is much less common. As of 2002, there were an estimated 100,000–150,000 mail order brides worldwide.<ref name="Foo 2002" />

The term ''mail-order bride'' has been criticized by international marriage agencies, who nevertheless continue to use it as an easily recognizable term.<ref>{{citation|title="Love Stops at the Border": Marriage, Citizenship, and the "Mail-Order Brides" Industry |author=AM D'Aoust |year=2009 |url=http://www.sas.upenn.edu/dcc/workshops/documents/DAoust_DCC_Grad_Workshop_paper.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100710103400/http://www.sas.upenn.edu/dcc/workshops/documents/DAoust_DCC_Grad_Workshop_paper.pdf |archive-date=10 July 2010 }}</ref> Women of Asian descent have also criticized the term, which they consider stigmatizing to women in such relationships. Consequently, some researchers have rejected the term.<ref name="Foo 2002" />

==Demographics==
Around 100,000 to 150,000 women advertise themselves as mail-order brides globally. Of these, around 4,000 to 6,000 are married to American men every year, according to [[Immigration and Naturalization Service|CIS]] estimates.<ref name="Foo 2002">{{cite book | last=Foo | first=L.J. | author2=Ford Foundation | title=Asian American Women: Issues, Concerns, and Responsive Human and Civil Rights Advocacy | publisher=Ford Foundation | year=2002 | isbn=978-0-595-30181-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qhMbTDPMrDQC&pg=PA26 | access-date=2023-10-13 | page=26}}</ref> More mail order brides originate from the Philippines than any other country, in spite of the illegality of mail order brides in the Philippines.<ref name="DrScholes" /><ref name="Foo 2002" /><ref name="Stewart 2020 p. 43" />

According to Robert Scholes, in a sample of 6,000 mail order brides, 76% were of Asian origin, while 28% originated from former [[Soviet Union]] countries such as Russia and Ukraine. A smaller portion were from Latin America.<ref name="DrScholes">{{cite web |last1=Scholes |first1=Robert |title=APPENDIX A, THE "MAIL-ORDER BRIDE" INDUSTRY AND ITS IMPACT ON U.S. IMMIGRATION |url=http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/MobRept_AppendixA.pdf |website=uscis.gov |publisher=United States Citizenship and Immigration Services|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926052612/http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/MobRept_AppendixA.pdf |archive-date=26 September 2007 }}</ref> The majority of the American men who married foreign wives were white, {{Vague|date=March 2025|text=highly educated, and successful.|reason=What are the measures of high education and "success?"}}<ref name="DrScholes" />

Of the foreign brides given residence status in the United States in 2002, 50% were from East Asia (mainly China, Vietnam and the Philippines), 25% were from European countries (namely Russia and Ukraine), and 5% were from Latin America.<ref name="Danico 2014 p. 1829">{{cite book | last=Danico | first=M.Y. | title=Asian American Society: An Encyclopedia | publisher=SAGE Publications | year=2014 | isbn=978-1-4522-8189-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gZleBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA1829 | access-date=2023-10-13 | page=1829}}</ref>

Owing to the large number of single men in rural Japan, mail-order brides from the Philippines became common in the 1990s, and in 2006 the number of such marriages peaked at 12,150. Although the number of marriages has dropped to less than 4,000, Filipinas still make up the largest number of foreign brides in Japan.<ref name="Stewart 2020 p. 43">{{cite book | last=Stewart | first=A. | title=Language Teacher Recognition: Narratives of Filipino English Teachers in Japan | publisher=Channel View Publications | series=New Perspectives on Language and Education | year=2020 | isbn=978-1-78892-791-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HcvVDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT43 | access-date=2023-10-13 | page=43}}</ref>

Due to the rising cost of paying for a bride in China, some Chinese men from working class communities have paid marriage brokers for wives from Vietnam, Laos or Cambodia. Although many of the women from Vietnam willingly marry for love or economic reasons, some are kidnapped and sold by human traffickers. According to China's [[Ministry of Public Security (China)|Ministry of Public Security]], 17,746 women were rescued from human traffickers in a period of less than two years.<ref>{{cite web |title=China's Trafficked Brides |url=https://thediplomat.com/2017/07/chinas-trafficked-brides |website=thediplomat.com}}</ref>

==Motivations==
===East and Southeast Asia===
Many international brides come from developing countries in East Asia and Southeast Asia, and occasionally from South Asia as well. The countries the women come from are faced with unemployment, malnutrition and inflation.<ref name="Meng, Eddy 1994">Meng, Eddy. "Mail-Order Brides: Gilded Prostitution and the Legal Response." ''Journal of Law Reform''; 28 (1994): 197.</ref> However, economic factors are not the only driving factor for women in Asia to enter the mail-order industry. In some cases women were recruited based on their physical appearance, with an emphasis placed on youth and virginity.<ref name="Meng, Eddy 1994"/> This is found among boutique agencies, most of which cater to wealthy men from other Asian nations. During the 1990s, the majority of Asian mail-order brides came from the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos  and China.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies |url=http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1123&context=ijgls/ |title=The Mail-Order Bride Industry and Immigration: Combating Immigration Fraud |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314175439/http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1123&context=ijgls%2F |archive-date=2014-03-14}}</ref>

In 2022, Monica Liu published findings which question the common assumption that mail-order brides in East Asia are often seeking marriage to escape poverty. She found that many marriage agencies in China cater to women from wealthy backgrounds.<ref>{{cite book | last=Liu | first=M. | title=Seeking Western Men: Email-Order Brides under China's Global Rise | publisher=Stanford University Press | series=Globalization in Everyday Life | year=2022 | isbn=978-1-5036-3374-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=59l-EAAAQBAJ&pg=PT14 | access-date=2023-10-14 | page=137 |quote= "Historically, Asian men have been stereotyped in both China and the United States as weaker and less sexually desirable than white men...These stereotypes originated with Western imperialism, which defined Asians as inherently feminized...Nevertheless, in China today, Western men, and white men in particular, still enjoy some degree of racial sexual capital..."}}</ref><ref name="StandfordUP">{{cite book | title=Seeking Western Men: Email-Order Brides under China's Global Rise – Monica Liu | website=Stanford University Press Home Page | isbn=978-1-5036-3247-9 | url=https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=35148 | access-date=2023-10-14| quote= Her study of China's email-order bride industry offers stories of Chinese women who are primarily middle-aged, divorced, and proactively seeking spouses to fulfill their material and sexual needs. | last1=Liu | first1=Monica | date=27 April 2024 | publisher=Stanford University Press }}</ref> Liu found that in many cases, wealthy Chinese women sought Western, especially [[White American]] partners, because they are stereotyped within China as being more masculine and better able to satisfy women's sexual and emotional needs.{{sfn|Liu|2022|p=137}}<ref name="StandfordUP" /> However, for the wealthiest Chinese women, the lower income of their foreign boyfriends was sometimes an impediment to marriage.{{sfn|Liu|2022|p=137}} 

According to Ericka Johnson, in Taiwan, many Taiwanese men seek Southeast Asian women as mail-order wives because they prefer hard-working women who will accept the drudges of daily housewife chores, while Taiwanese women reject this traditional view of a woman's role in marriage. For this reason, Taiwanese women seek to marry Western mail-order husbands.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=Ericka |title=Dreaming of a Mail-Order Husband: Russian-American Internet Romance |date=13 July 2007 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=978-0-8223-8975-0 |page=180 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mP2z8K4KAqkC&pg=PA180 |language=en}}</ref>

====Indonesia====

Indonesian women, who are mainly [[sex workers]], enter the mail-order bride industry in hopes of escaping poverty in Indonesia. The Indonesian government has warned its citizens against mail-order bride schemes rampant in the country, which are often fronts for illegal human trafficking activities. Still, mail-order bride activities persist in Indonesian society today, especially in the country's impoverished and provincial areas. In April 2025, Indonesian news agency [[Antara (news agency)|Antara]] revealed in a report that incidents of mail-order bride schemes used as fronts for prostitution, human trafficking, and other illegal activities have seen a steady increase in the country.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Septiari |first1=Dian |title=Indonesia warns of mail-order bride scheme |url=https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/10/10/ri-warns-of-mail-order-bride-scheme.html |access-date=23 June 2025 |agency=The Jakarta Post |publisher=The Jakarta Post Digital |date=11 October 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=WIB |first1=Antara |title=Getting to know the "mail order bride" method in human trafficking cases (Mengenal modus "pengantin pesanan" dalam kasus perdagangan orang) |url=https://www.antaranews.com/berita/4790529/mengenal-modus-pengantin-pesanan-dalam-kasus-perdagangan-orang |access-date=23 June 2025 |agency=Antara News |publisher=Antara News Digital |date=24 April 2025}}</ref>

====Philippines====
Filipina women often entered the mail-order industry in the hope of marrying abroad, and then sponsoring their family for immigration.<ref name="Meng, Eddy 1994"/>

===Eastern Europe===
Economic and social conditions for women in Russia and other [[Post-Soviet states]] are a motivational factor in finding foreign arrangements. The rise of Russian mail-order brides happened immediately after the [[collapse of the Soviet Union]].<ref name="Barry 1996 p. 155">{{cite book | last=Barry | first=K. | title=The Prostitution of Sexuality: The Global Exploitation of Women | publisher=NYU Press | year=1996 | isbn=978-0-8147-2336-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8DyR8eUbJhIC&pg=PA155 | access-date=2023-10-14 | page=155}}</ref> In 2004 testimony before the United States Senate, Professor [[Donna M. Hughes|Donna Hughes]] said that two-thirds of Ukrainian women interviewed wanted to live abroad and this rose to 97% in the resort city of [[Yalta]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hughes |first1=Donna M. |title=Human Trafficking: Mail-Order Bride Abuses |url=http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/testimony_senate_july04.pdf |website=University of Rhode Island |access-date=30 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120704085428/http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/testimony_senate_july04.pdf |archive-date=4 July 2012 |language=en |date=13 July 2004 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Russia====
In 1999 it was reported that women in Russia earned 43 percent of what men did.<ref>Hughes, Donna M. "Commercial Use of the Internet for Sexual Exploitation: Pimps and Predators on the Internet, Globalizing the Sexual Exploitation of Women and Children, Part 1." Coalition Against the Trafficking in Women (1999). The University of Rhode Island. Mar. 1999. Web. Nov. 2010.</ref> Marriage is a substantial part of [[Russian culture]], with 30 years being the age at which a woman is considered an "[[old maid]]".<ref>Sullivan, Kevin. "Blissful Coexistence?; U.S. Men Seek Mail-Order Brides in Russia" ''The Washington Post''. 24 May 1994. Web. 12 November 2010.</ref>{{Update inline|date=March 2025|reason=The source was published over 30 years ago, but the sentence discusses the perspective as if it is current. Either the source or phrasing needs updating.}}

==International marriage agencies==
An international marriage agency (also called an international introduction agency or international marriage broker) is a business that endeavors to introduce men and women of different countries for the purpose of marriage, [[dating]], or [[Pen pal|correspondence]]. Many of these marriage agencies are based near women in developing countries (such as Colombia, China, Thailand, and the Philippines).<ref>{{cite book |title=Introduction to Gender: Social Science Perspectives |last1=Marchbank |first1=Dr. Jennifer |last2=Letherby |first2=Prof. Gayle |date=2007 |pages=194–195 |publisher=Pearson Longman |isbn=978-1405858441}}</ref> International marriage agencies encourage women to register for their services, and facilitate communication and meetings with men from developed regions of Europe, North America, Japan, South Korea, and Australia.<ref>Paragraph 14 [http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?bc=1016|6715|16871|17119|13775 International matchmaking Organizations: A Report to Congress] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140803040117/http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?bc=1016%7C6715%7C16871%7C17119%7C13775 |date=3 August 2014 }}</ref> This network of smaller international marriage agencies is often affiliated with web-based international dating sites that are able to market their services on a larger scale, in compliance with regulations such as the [[International Marriage Broker Regulation Act]].<ref>IMBRA law: [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ162.109.pdf Violence Against Women and Department Of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203073115/http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ162.109.pdf |date=3 December 2010 }}</ref> Experian, a market research firm, reports that the top 10 international dating sites attracted 12 million visitors in March 2013, up 29% from March 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2013/04/09/the-mail-order-bride-boom/?iid=SF_F_River|title=The Mail Order Bride Boom|date=9 April 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225083057/http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2013/04/09/the-mail-order-bride-boom/?iid=SF_F_River|archive-date=25 December 2013|access-date=11 April 2013}}</ref> International dating sites provide a wide variety of online communication, including instant messaging, email letters, webchat, phone translation, virtual gifts, live games, and mobile-based chat.<ref>Level of Services (paragraph 13) [http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?bc=1016|6715|16871|17119|13775 International matchmaking Agencies: A Report to Congress] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140803040117/http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?bc=1016%7C6715%7C16871%7C17119%7C13775 |date=3 August 2014 }}</ref><ref>Ukrainian Mail Order Brides (AskMen): [http://www.askmen.com/entertainment/better_look/10_ukrainian-mail-order-brides-part-1.html Ukrainian Mail Order Brides] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110803195837/http://www.askmen.com/entertainment/better_look/10_ukrainian-mail-order-brides-part-1.html |date=3 August 2011 }}</ref> International marriage agencies are frequently referred to as "mail-order bride" agencies. However, many consider the term "mail-order bride" derogatory and feel it demeans foreign women by comparing them to commodities for sale and by falsely implying that (unlike local women), they exercise no judgment over the men they meet and would marry anyone from a relatively wealthy country.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mail-order-bride.com/|title=Best Mail Order Brides Services|editor=Dani Gartenberg|website=Mail-order-bride.com|language=en}}</ref>

Services offered by marriage agencies typically include:
*Offering a catalog with verified women's profiles
*Introductions
*Platform for communication and interaction
*Translation of correspondence between clients not speaking a common language
*Excursions, in which a man is introduced to several women interested in marriage <ref>{{cite web
|url=https://medium.com/foreign-wife-finder/mail-order-brides-for-those-looking-for-love-abroad-b6e19c328739
|title=Mail Order Brides for Those Looking for Love Abroad
|date=31 January 2024
|author=Lauren Welch
|website=medium.com
|access-date=2024-08-22
}}</ref>

==History==

===17th and 18th centuries===

====British colonies====
{{seealso|Tobacco brides}}
In 1620, the [[Virginia Company]] recruited mail-order brides for the [[Colony of Virginia|Jamestown colony]], sponsoring the emigration of 140 women in hopes of reducing desertion by the settlers and to avoid the men marrying women from the local Native American tribes. They were sometimes referred to as "tobacco wives", because each male colonist who married a mail-order bride had to reimburse the company for her passage at a cost of 120 pounds of "good leaf tobacco". The women who were brought over by the company were free to marry whomever they chose, even men who were too poor to pay their passage fee. The average age of these brides was 20.{{r|zug|p=14-22}}

====French colonies====
France took a similar tactic in the mid-1600s, recruiting and sponsoring approximately 800 women to emigrate to [[New France]]. These mail-order brides were known as the [[King's Daughters|filles du roi]] ({{langx|fr|link=no|filles du roi}} or {{langx|fr|filles du roy|label=none}} in the spelling of the era).{{r|lanctot|pp=9, 102}} The New France colony followed the same patterns as Jamestown: male settlers returned home or married Native American women and left the colony to live with their wives' tribes. For the filles du roi, the government not only paid to recruit and transport them, it also provided each woman with a dowry of at least 50 [[French livre|livres]]. As with the "tobacco wives" of Jamestown, the filles du roi had the right to choose their partners and could refuse any suitor. Genetic studies of [[French Canadians]] have suggested that millions of people in Canada today are descended from the filles du roi.{{r|zug|pp=30–41]}}

When New France began its [[Louisiana (New France)|Louisiana]] colony in 1699, it requested more mail-order brides. These were known as [[casquette girl|Pelican girls]] (for the first ship that brought women to the colony, ''[[French ship Pélican (1702)|Le Pélican]]''). This program was not successful; the women had been recruited with false descriptions of the struggling colony and had many complaints about their treatment. When women in France heard of the terrible conditions and of how the Pelican girls had been treated, the government was unable to recruit many more mail-order brides. France had to resort to shipping over thieves and prostitutes, known as "correction girls".{{r|zug|p=51-54}}

====Portuguese colonies====
The [[Órfãs do Rei]] (''orphans of the king'') were Portuguese girl orphans who were sent from Portugal to overseas colonies during the [[Portuguese Empire]] as part of Portugal's colonization efforts. The orphans were married to native rulers or Portuguese settlers.{{sfnp|Sarkissian|2000|p=22}} Their fathers were Portuguese men who died in battle for the king.{{sfnp|More|Manickam|2001|p=126}}{{sfnp|Stephen|2006|p=271}} Both noble and non-noble girls were in the ''órfãs do rei''.{{sfnp|Maria|1982|p=34}}{{sfnp|Boyajian|2007|p=33}}{{sfnp|''The Indonesian Quarterly''|1973|p=117}} Many were sent to the [[Colonial Brazil|colony of Brazil]],{{sfnp|Telfer|1932|p=184}} and they ranged from 12 to 30 years of age.{{sfnp|Coates|2001|p=143}}

===19th and early 20th centuries===
There are at least two historical roots of the mail-order bride industry that emerged in the 1800s in the [[American frontier]]: [[Coolie#In the Americas|Asian workers]] in the frontier regions (although Asian workers were scattered throughout the world), and American men who had headed west across the United States to the frontier.

====Asian immigrants====
Asian men worked through mail-order agencies to find wives as they worked overseas in the 1800s. Key variables determining the relationship between [[Human migration|migration]] and marriage were demographics, legal policies, cultural perceptions and technology.<ref>{{citation|title=Migration for labor, migration for love: marriage and family formation across borders|journal=OAH Magazine of History|volume=14|issue=1|pages=17–21|author=S Sinke|year=1999|jstor=25163323|doi=10.1093/maghis/14.1.17}}</ref> Imbalances between the number of available women and the number of men desiring partners created a demand for immigrant women. As a result of this imbalance, a new system of "picture brides" developed in predominantly male settlements.<ref>{{citation|title=The Search for June Cleaver|author=Itta C. Englander|url=http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=itta_englander|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629194605/http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=itta_englander|archive-date=2011-06-29}}</ref> In the early 20th century, the institution of "[[picture bride]]s" developed due to immigration restrictions. The [[Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907|Japanese-American Passport Agreement of 1907]] allowed Japan to grant passports to the wives of immigrants to America.<ref name="Browne">Waldo R. Browne (ed.), "Picture Bride," in ''What's What in the Labor Movement: A Dictionary of Labor Affairs and Labor Terminology.'' New York: B.W. Huebsch, 1921; pg. 375.</ref> As immigration of unmarried Japanese women to America was effectively barred, the use of "picture brides" provided a mechanism for willing women to obtain a passport to America, while Japanese workers in America could gain a female helpmate of their own nationality.<ref name="Browne" />

====European immigrants====
[[European Americans|European American men]] sought financial success in the migration West, but few women lived there at this time, so it was hard for these men to settle down and start a family. During the [[California gold rush]] in 1849, there were at least three men for every woman, and by 1852 the ratio had increased to nearly seven men for every woman.{{r|zug|p=65}} They attempted to attract women living back East; the men wrote letters to churches and published personal advertisements in magazines and newspapers. In return, the women would write to the men and send them photographs of themselves. Courtship was conducted by letter, until a woman agreed to marry a man she had never met.<ref>Enns, C. (2005) Hearts west: the true stories of mail-order brides on the frontier. Connecticut: Globe Pequot Press.</ref> Many women wanted to escape their present way of living, gain financial security and see what life on the frontier could offer them. Most of these women were single, but some were [[widow]]s, divorcées or [[Runaway (dependent)|runaways]].<ref>Jameson, E. (1976). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3346071 Imperfect unions class and gender in cripple creek] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423173450/http://www.jstor.org/stable/3346071 |date=23 April 2016 }}. Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, 1(2)</ref> Mail-order marriages gave Black women an escape from the crushing racial restrictions in the South.{{r|zug|p=141}} In 1885, a group of married Black women in [[Arizona Territory]] formed the Busy Bee Club to advertise for wives for Arizona miners, hoping to reduce violence in the mining camps and encourage Black women to move to the area.{{r|beauman|p=144}}{{r|enss|pp=31–34}}

To recruit mail-order brides for [[Oregon]], area bachelors combined funds to send two brothers east. The Benton brothers began their search in [[Maryland]], posting "Brides Wanted" flyers. They held meetings at which they described the territory and promised free passage west. More than 100 women accompanied the Bentons back to Oregon.{{r|zug|pp=83–84}} [[Asa Mercer]] performed a similar recruiting role for Seattle. Only 11 women accompanied Mercer back on his first trip, but his second was more successful, with more than 100 women travelling to Seattle, accompanied by a ''[[New York Times]]'' journalist to chronicle the journey. These prospective brides were known as [[Mercer Girls]].{{r|zug|pp=89–91}}

[[British Columbia]] welcomed sixty women from Britain, mail-order brides recruited by the Columbia Emigration Society, in 1862. Another twenty women from Australia were bound for [[Victoria, British Columbia|Victoria]] but were convinced to stay in San Francisco when their ship docked there.<ref>{{cite web | website=Canada's History | title=Crinoline Cargo | date=10 January 2016 | last=Hunter | first=Terri | url=https://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/women/crinoline-cargo | access-date=29 May 2021}}</ref>

In the early 20th century, answering matrimonial ads was a route to entering the United States after immigration limits became more restrictive. It was also a means of escaping war-torn regions. In 1922, two ships docked in New York with 900 mail-order brides from Eastern European countries such as Turkey, Romania, Armenia, and Greece, fleeing the [[Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922)|Greco-Turkish War]].{{r|zug|pp=174–181}}

==Country-specific legal history==

===Belarus===
In 2005, President [[Alexander Lukashenko]] attempted to regulate "marriage agencies" in Belarus and make it difficult for them to operate. However, since he failed to address the economic problems which have been the root cause of the issue, he has been unable to stop (or otherwise regulate) this activity.<ref>[http://www.data.minsk.by/belarusnews/082005/100.html "Belarus News and Analysis"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060725073358/http://www.data.minsk.by/belarusnews/082005/100.html |date=25 July 2006 }}, Anna Volk</ref>

===Cambodia===
Thousands of women from Cambodia were mail-order brides to men in South Korea. Viewing the practice as a form of human trafficking, in the 21st century the Cambodian government passed a number of laws, such as prohibiting marriage between Cambodian women and men over the age of 50, a ban on marriage between Cambodian women and Korean men, and a ban on marriages with foreigners (which was rescinded after six months).{{r|zug|pp=197–198}}

===Canada===
Canadian [[immigration law]]s concerning mail-order brides have traditionally been similar to (but slightly less restrictive than) their U.S. counterparts; for instance, previously not requiring the Canadian citizen to prove minimum-income requirements (as has been a long-standing requirement of United States immigration laws). While there is still no formal requirement for a minimum salary, the sponsor must provide evidence of income (such as the T4 income tax slip from an employer) with their IMM 5481 Sponsorship Evaluation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/imm5481e.pdf|title=IMM 5481E: Sponsorship Evaluation|website=cic.gc.ca|access-date=4 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171031104755/http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM5481E.pdf|archive-date=31 October 2017}}</ref> Until 2001 Canada's immigration policy designated mail-order brides under the "family class" to refer to spouses and dependents and "fiancé(e)" class for those intending to marry, with only limited recognition of externally married opposite-sex "common law" relationships; same-sex partners were processed as independent immigrants or under a discretionary provision for "humane and compassionate" considerations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.law.utoronto.ca/documents/globalization/Laviolette-PaperOct26.pdf|title=LaViolette – Immigration of Same-Sex Couples|website=utoronto.ca|access-date=4 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930175011/http://www.law.utoronto.ca/documents/globalization/Laviolette-PaperOct26.pdf|archive-date=30 September 2013}}</ref> In 2002, the Canadian Immigration Law was completely revised. One of the major changes was conjugal partner sponsorship, available for any two people (including [[Same-sex marriage|same-sex couple]]s) who have had conjugal relations, with "a significant degree of attachment" and "mutually interdependent relationship", for at least one year.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sponsor your spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner or dependent child – Complete Guide (IMM 5289) |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/application-forms-guides/guide-5289-sponsor-your-spouse-common-law-partner-conjugal-partner-dependent-child-complete-guide.html |website=Government of Canada |date=18 July 2011 |access-date=25 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240723161449/https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/application-forms-guides/guide-5289-sponsor-your-spouse-common-law-partner-conjugal-partner-dependent-child-complete-guide.html |archive-date=23 July 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref>

There have been reported instances in which foreign spouses have abandoned their Canadian sponsors upon arrival in Canada or soon thereafter,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/cbsa-urged-to-act-on-marriage-fraud-complaints-1.1003655 |title=CBSA urged to act on marriage fraud complaints |publisher=CBC News |date=29 October 2011 |access-date=2013-03-30 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130402055311/http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2011/10/29/pol-marriage-fraud.html |archive-date=2013-04-02 }}</ref> often collecting welfare, which the sponsor is obligated to repay.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/russian-bride-leaves-elderly-man-with-25k-welfare-bill-1.1258077 |title=Russian bride leaves elderly man with $25K welfare bill |publisher=CBC British Columbia |date=22 October 2012 |access-date=2013-03-30 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130308094107/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/10/19/bc-marriagebill.html |archive-date=2013-03-08 }}</ref> In some of the cases, federal immigration authorities have made no attempt to revoke fraudulently-obtained landed immigrant status or deport the claimants, treating cases where one spouse is duped by the other as low-priority and difficult to prove.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/b-c-woman-wants-fake-husband-deported-1.882409 |title=B.C. woman wants 'fake' husband deported |publisher=CBC British Columbia |date=14 June 2010 |access-date=2013-03-30 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130401232647/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/06/14/bc-marriagefraud.html |archive-date=2013-04-01 }}</ref>

A two-year conditional residence requirement (like that in force in Australia and the United States) was proposed in 2011 and is now applied to new arrivals.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gardner |first1=Simon |title=Foreign spouses face tighter rules in Canada |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/foreign-spouses-face-tighter-rules-in-canada-1.1244206 |access-date=8 November 2019 |publisher=CBC News |date=19 March 2012}}</ref>

===China===

China is one of the main source countries of East Asian mail-order brides. [[Vietnamese people|Vietnamese women]] are traveling to China as mail-order brides for rural [[Han Chinese]] men to earn money for their families and a rise in the standard of living, matchmaking between Chinese men and Vietnamese women has increased and has not been affected by troubled relations between Vietnam and China.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thanhniennews.com/society/vietnamese-brides-happy-enough-with-chinese-husbands-30068.html|title=Vietnamese brides happy enough with Chinese husbands|date=19 August 2014|work=thanhniennews.com|access-date=1 February 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510210426/http://www.thanhniennews.com/society/vietnamese-brides-happy-enough-with-chinese-husbands-30068.html|archive-date=10 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shanghaidaily.com/feature/news-feature/Leftover-men-buy-brides-from-Vietnam/shdaily.shtml|title='Leftover' men buy brides from Vietnam|work=shanghaidaily.com|date=20 August 2014 |access-date=1 February 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510072715/http://www.shanghaidaily.com/feature/news-feature/Leftover-men-buy-brides-from-Vietnam/shdaily.shtml|archive-date=10 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/rural-chinese-men-are-buying-vietnamese-brides-for-3200-2014-8|title=Rural Chinese Men Are Buying Vietnamese Brides For $3,200|work=businessinsider.com|access-date=1 February 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170213010153/http://www.businessinsider.com/rural-chinese-men-are-buying-vietnamese-brides-for-3200-2014-8|archive-date=13 February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1576383/joy-and-pain-vietnamese-brides-cash|title=Joy and pain of the Vietnamese 'brides for cash'|work=scmp.com|access-date=1 February 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510131806/http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1576383/joy-and-pain-vietnamese-brides-cash|archive-date=10 May 2017|date=18 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/east-wed-china-seeks-brides-richer-poorer-040218390.html|title=The East is wed: China seeks brides for richer, for poorer|work=yahoo.com|access-date=1 February 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303095842/http://news.yahoo.com/east-wed-china-seeks-brides-richer-poorer-040218390.html|archive-date=3 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/people/2014/08/22/seeking-vietnamese-brides/|title=Personals: Chinese men seek Vietnamese brides, will pay RM10,000, must relocate – People – The Star Online|first=Tom|last=Hancock|work=thestar.com.my|access-date=1 February 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510135529/http://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/people/2014/08/22/seeking-vietnamese-brides/|archive-date=10 May 2017|date=22 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://kenh14.vn/the-gioi/cuoc-song-cua-co-dau-viet-tai-thi-tran-ngheo-o-trung-quoc-20140818075811320.chn|title=Cuộc sống của cô dâu Việt tại thị trấn nghèo ở Trung Quốc|last=VCCorp.vn|work=kenh14.vn|access-date=1 February 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160619051818/http://kenh14.vn/the-gioi/cuoc-song-cua-co-dau-viet-tai-thi-tran-ngheo-o-trung-quoc-20140818075811320.chn|archive-date=19 June 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chinasmack.com/2010/stories/chinese-man-spends-35k-for-obedient-vietnamese-wife.html|title=Chinese Man Spends 35K For 'Obedient' Vietnamese Wife|date=31 January 2010|work=chinasmack.com|access-date=1 February 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160926151310/http://www.chinasmack.com/2010/stories/chinese-man-spends-35k-for-obedient-vietnamese-wife.html|archive-date=26 September 2016}}</ref>{{Excessive citations inline|date=March 2025}} Some Vietnamese women from [[Lào Cai]] who married [[Han Chinese]] men stated that among their reasons for doing so was that Vietnamese men beat their wives, engaged in affairs with mistresses, and refused to help their wives with chores while Han men actively helped their wives carry out chores and care for them.<ref>{{cite book|author=Yuk Wah Chan|title=Vietnamese-Chinese Relationships at the Borderlands: Trade, Tourism and Cultural Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cjoVAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA113|date=12 November 2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-49457-6}}, p. 113.</ref> [[Khmer people|Cambodian women]] also travel to China as mail order brides for rural men.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chinafile.com/reporting-opinion/caixin-media/chinese-towns-imported-cambodian-brides|title=A Chinese Town's Imported Cambodian Brides|date=19 August 2014|work=chinafile.com|access-date=1 February 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110145246/http://www.chinafile.com/reporting-opinion/caixin-media/chinese-towns-imported-cambodian-brides|archive-date=10 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldcrunch.com/culture-society/the-cambodian-brides-of-china/immigration-cambodian-brides-matchmakers-weddings/c3s16538/ |title=The Cambodian Brides of China |access-date=2016-02-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307042433/http://www.worldcrunch.com/culture-society/the-cambodian-brides-of-china/immigration-cambodian-brides-matchmakers-weddings/c3s16538/ |archive-date=2016-03-07 }}</ref> In the majority of cases, young women are persuaded by friends and relatives with an offer, and at least 5 percent of Vietnamese women in marriages to Chinese men are victims of human trafficking.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Li |first=Wei |title=Matching Vietnamese brides with Chinese men, marriage brokers find good business – and sometimes love |url=http://theconversation.com/matching-vietnamese-brides-with-chinese-men-marriage-brokers-find-good-business-and-sometimes-love-127977 |access-date=2022-07-13 |website=The Conversation |date=10 January 2020 |language=en}}</ref> There is no established bilateral cooperation between China and Vietnam to deal with the problematic aspects of undocumented, transnational marriages, since the Chinese marriage market crisis has been significantly alleviated by female immigrants. Despite prohibition, illegal border crossing and de facto marriage are common and uncontrollable.<ref>Liang, Maochun, and Chen, Wen. "[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273313260_Transnational_Undocumented_Marriages_in_the_Sino-Vietnamese_Border_Areas_of_China Transnational Undocumented Marriages in the Sino-Vietnamese Border Areas of China]." ''Jinan University''. Retrieved on 13 July 2022.</ref>

===Colombia===
According to immigration statistics from the [[United States Department of Homeland Security]], Colombia has ranked in the top 10 of countries since 1999 from which fiancées have emigrated for the United States. As well, the number of Colombians being admitted to the United States between 1999 and 2008 using fiancé visas (including children) has increased 321 percent.<ref>[https://www.dhs.gov/ximgtn/statistics] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061031224007/https://www.dhs.gov/ximgtn/statistics|date=31 October 2006}}</ref>

A dissertation by Jasney E. Cogua-Lopez, "Through the Prisms of Gender and Power: Agency in International Courtship between Colombian Women and American Men", suggests various reasons for this growth, including continuing cultural inequality between the sexes despite equality being codified in the country's laws ([[honor killing]]s were not made completely illegal until 1980).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1189&context=etd |title=Through the Prisms of Gender and Power: Agency in International Courtship between Colombian Women and American Men |access-date=2012-05-24 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406185759/http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1189&context=etd |archive-date=2013-04-06 }}</ref>

Because of the large number of Colombians wishing to leave their country by marrying foreigners, a [[black market]] for marriages to foreigners has developed, with some people allegedly paying as much as 20 million pesos ($10,000) to illegal groups.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/7021-colombians-marry-foreigners-seeking-other-nationalities.html |title=Colombians seeking new nationalities marry foreigners – Colombia news |publisher=Colombia Reports |date=24 November 2009 |access-date=2013-03-30 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20130330143334/http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/7021-colombians-marry-foreigners-seeking-other-nationalities.html |archive-date=2013-03-30 }}</ref>

According to Colombia Decrees No. 2668/88 and 1556/89, passed in 1988, foreigners are allowed to marry nationals in the country provided they supply the proper paperwork, including a birth certificate and proof that both parties are not already married. A notary is required, but because the laws are open to interpretation, the requirements can vary from notary to notary.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bogota.usembassy.gov/marriage.html |title=Marriage in Colombia |publisher=Embassy of the United States – Bogota |date=27 November 2012 |access-date=2013-03-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130327103103/http://bogota.usembassy.gov/marriage.html |archive-date=2013-03-27 }}</ref>

===Japan===
{{Main|Asian migrant brides in Japan}}
During the 1980s and 1990s, local authorities started government-led initiatives encouraging marriage between women from other Asian countries and Japanese farmers due to the lack of Japanese women who wanted to live in the countryside.<ref name="Japansource">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JImIBAAAQBAJ |title=Transformation of the Intimate and the Public in Asian Modernity |date= 12 August 2014|publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004264359 }}</ref> These Asian brides came from the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, China and South Korea.<ref name="Japansource"/> The phenomenon of marrying women from other Asian countries later spread to urban parts of Japan as well.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/12/world/yodo-journal-where-want-ads-are-bait-and-weddings-forced.html|title=Yodo Journal; Where Want Ads Are Bait and Weddings Forced|date=14 April 1991|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

===Philippines===
The Philippines prohibits the business of organizing or facilitating marriages between Filipinas and foreign men. The Philippine congress enacted the [[Anti Mail-Order Bride Law]] on 13 June 1990, as a result of stories in the local media about Filipinas being abused by their foreign husbands. Because of this, Filipinas often used "reverse publications" – publications in which ''men'' advertise themselves – to contact foreign men for marriage to Filipina women.

Successful prosecution under this statute is rare or non-existent<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KzhEUE35pRcC&pg=PA103 |title=Trafficking And the Global Sex Industry |access-date=2013-04-16|isbn=9780739113134 |last1=Beeks |first1=Karen |last2=Amir |first2=Delila |year=2006 |publisher=Lexington Books }}</ref> as widespread deployment of the Internet in the mid-1990s brought a proliferation of websites operating outside the Philippines which legally remain beyond the reach of Filipino law. One [[Montana]] site profiled in an [[ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs]] report entitled "Pinay Brides" circumvented the restrictions by characterising its role as that of a [[travel agency]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=muPfQjYP-0IC&pg=PA55 |title=Romance on a Global Stage: Pen Pals, Virtual Ethnography, and "Mail-Order Brides" |author=Nicole Constable |date=19 August 2003 |publisher=University of California Press |access-date=2013-04-16|isbn=9780520937222 }}</ref> Thousands of Filipina women marry Americans each year.<ref>{{cite news |author=Mae Ryan |title=Imported Filipino brides share the ups and downs of settling in America |url=http://www.scpr.org/programs/offramp/2012/09/26/28576/imported-filipino-brides-settle-into-love-in-south/ |newspaper=SCPR |date=26 September 2012 |access-date=9 December 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325113706/http://www.scpr.org/programs/offramp/2012/09/26/28576/imported-filipino-brides-settle-into-love-in-south/ |archive-date=25 March 2015 }}</ref>

===South Korea===
''[[The New York Times]]'' reports, "Every month, hundreds of South Korean men fly to Vietnam, the Philippines, Nepal and Uzbekistan on special trips. An agent escorts each man to see many women in a single day, sometimes all gathered in the same hall".<ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/24/world/asia/foreign-brides-challenge-south-korean-prejudices.html|title=Foreign brides challenge South Korean prejudices|first=Choe|last=Sang-Hun|date=24 June 2005|access-date=4 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112060708/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/24/world/asia/foreign-brides-challenge-south-korean-prejudices.html|archive-date=12 November 2016|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> Although these marriages can be successful, in some cases immigrant wives are mistreated, misunderstood and separated from their Korean husbands.<ref name="nytimes.com"/> One method men use when choosing young girls as wives is "Like a judge in a beauty pageant, the man interviews the women, many of them 20 years younger than he, and makes a choice".<ref name="nytimes.com"/> The British newspaper ''The Independent'' reports, "Last year it was reported that more than 40,000 Vietnamese women have married South Korean men and migrated there."<ref name="independent.co.uk">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/mailorder-bride-killed-by-husband-2028705.html|title=Mail-order bride killed by husband|work=The Independent|access-date=8 May 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925184329/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/mailorder-bride-killed-by-husband-2028705.html|archive-date=25 September 2015}}</ref> Cambodian women are also popular with Korean men seeking foreign brides, but in March 2010 the Cambodian government banned marriages to South Korean men.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/03/22/2010032200462.html|title=The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition): Daily News from Korea – Cambodia Bans Marriage to Korean Men|access-date=8 May 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150304233133/http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/03/22/2010032200462.html|archive-date=4 March 2015}}</ref>

''[[The Korea Times]]'' reports that every year, thousands of Korean men sign up for matches with Filipina brides through agencies and by mail order. Based on data from the Korean government, there are 6,191 Filipinas in South Korea who are married to Koreans.<ref>[https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/10/211_53320.html koreatimes.co.kr] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170201072334/http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/10/211_53320.html/ |date=1 February 2017 }} This is only the women from the Philippines.</ref> After contacting a mail-order agency, the majority of Filipina mail-order brides met their husbands by attending "show-ups", a meeting in which a group of Filipina women are brought to meet a Korean man who is looking for a wife. At the show-up the Korean man picks a prospective wife from among the group, and in a matter of days they are married.<ref name="The Korea Times">{{cite web|url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/10/211_53320.html|title=Filipina Mail-Order Brides Vulnerable to Abuse|date=11 October 2009|work=[[The Korea Times]]|access-date=1 February 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170201072334/http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/10/211_53320.html/|archive-date=1 February 2017}}</ref>

An anthropological study on Filipina wives and Korean men by professor Kim Min-jung of the Department of Cultural Anthropology at Kangwon National University found that these Korean men find it difficult to marry Korean women, so they look for girls in poorer countries with difficult economic circumstances.<ref name="The Korea Times"/> The Korean men feel that because of the difficult circumstances from which the Filipina women come, cultural differences and the language barrier, they "will not run away". Further, she said, Korean men characterize Southeast Asian women as friendly, hardworking (due to agrarian backgrounds), "docile and obedient, able to speak English, and are familiar with Korean patriarchal culture".<ref name="The Korea Times"/>

A recent study by matchmaking firm Bien-Aller polled 274 single South Korean men through its website concerning motivations for marrying non-Korean women and found that men choose foreign brides primarily for one of four reasons. "According to the poll, 32.1 percent of the men said they felt the biggest benefit of marrying foreign women is their lack of interest in their groom's educational background and financial or social status. The next best reason was their belief that foreign brides would be submissive (23 percent), make their lives more comfortable (15.3 percent), and that the men would not have to get stressed about their in-laws (13.8 percent)."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/10/18/2012101800458.html |title=Why Korean Men Marry Foreign Women |publisher=The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition) |date=18 October 2012 |access-date=2013-03-30 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130315032100/http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/10/18/2012101800458.html |archive-date=2013-03-15 }}</ref>

The majority of mail order brides from China to South Korea consist of [[Koreans in China|Chinese citizens of Korean ethnicity]].<ref name="ChoSurendra2012">{{cite book|author1=Hee-Yeon Cho|author2=Lawrence Surendra|author3=Hyo-Je Cho|title=Contemporary South Korean Society: A Critical Perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q9XaiW7R4NkC&q=chinese+korean+south+korean+marriage&pg=PA24|date=12 November 2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-19128-2|pages=24–}}</ref><ref name="Kim2010">{{cite book|author=Hyejin Kim|title=International Ethnic Networks and Intra-Ethnic Conflict: Koreans in China|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CZ3IAAAAQBAJ&q=chinese+korean+south+korean+marriage&pg=PA175|date=8 June 2010|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-0-230-10772-4|pages=175–}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Sounds of Chinese Korean: A Variationist Approach|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d513kLszf0AC&q=chinese+korean+south+korean+marriage&pg=PA13|year=2008|isbn=978-0-549-64819-2|pages=13–}}</ref><ref name="Chʻoe2003">{{cite book|author=In-bŏm Chʻoe|title=The Korean Diaspora in the World Economy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3twZUkqE5NkC&q=chinese+korean+south+korean+marriage&pg=PA116|date=1 January 2003|publisher=Peterson Institute|isbn=978-0-88132-358-0|pages=116–}}</ref><ref name="NaerssenSpaan2008">{{cite book|author1=Ton van Naerssen|author2=Ernst Spaan|author3=Annelies Zoomers|title=Global Migration and Development|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zGOUAgAAQBAJ&q=china+ethnic+korean+brides+south+korea&pg=PA271|date=13 February 2008|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-89630-0|pages=271–}}</ref><ref name="PalmerRoberts2011">{{cite book|author1=John D. Palmer|author2=Amy Roberts|author3=Young Ha Cho|author4=Gregory S. Ching|title=The Internationalization of East Asian Higher Education: Globalization's Impact|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fQLHAAAAQBAJ&q=china+ethnic+korean+brides+south+korea&pg=PA100|date=9 November 2011|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-1-137-00200-6|pages=100–}}</ref><ref name="Constable2010">{{cite book|author=Nicole Constable|title=Cross-Border Marriages: Gender and Mobility in Transnational Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9ZtSe2-sr_EC&q=chinese+korean+south+korean+marriage&pg=PA107|date=3 August 2010|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=978-0-8122-0064-5|pages=107–}}</ref><ref name="Steinberg2010">{{cite book|author=David I Steinberg|title=Korea's Changing Roles in Southeast Asia: Expanding Influence and Relations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PnVF8G9rCjcC&q=china+ethnic+korean+brides+south+korea&pg=PA316|year=2010|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies|isbn=978-981-230-969-3|pages=316–}}</ref><ref name="YangLu2010">{{cite book|author1=Wen-Shan Yang|author2=Melody Chia-Wen Lu|title=Asian Cross-border Marriage Migration: Demographic Patterns and Social Issues|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mC6nKkhwrjwC&q=chinese+korean+yanbian+ethnic++liaoning+brides&pg=PA135|year=2010|publisher=Amsterdam University Press|isbn=978-90-8964-054-3|pages=135–}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/chinapolicyinstitute/2014/02/10/chinese-foreign-marriage-in-mainland-china/|title=Chinese-foreign Marriage in Mainland China|date=10 February 2014|work=nottingham.ac.uk|access-date=1 February 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20170202054644/http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/chinapolicyinstitute/2014/02/10/chinese-foreign-marriage-in-mainland-china/|archive-date=2 February 2017}}</ref>{{Excessive citations inline|date=March 2025}}

====Violence against foreign brides in South Korea====
In June 2013, The Philippine embassy in Seoul reported that it had received many complaints from Filipinas who have married Korean men through mail-order, frequently becoming "victims of grave abuses".<ref name="abs-cbnnews.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/06/27/13/philippines-rescues-29-mail-order-brides-south-korea|title=Philippines rescues 29 mail-order brides to South Korea|agency=Agence France-Presse|work=abs-cbnnews.com|date=27 June 2013|access-date=1 February 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130701030759/http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/06/27/13/philippines-rescues-29-mail-order-brides-south-korea|archive-date=1 July 2013}}</ref> The Philippine police rescued 29 mail-order brides on their way to marry South Korea men whom Chief Superintendent Reginald Villasanta, head of an organised crime task force, says were "duped into promises of an instant wealthy life through marriage with Korean gentlemen". The women were advertised in online and offline "catalogs" to South Korean men. In many cases however, victims were fed false information about the background of their future spouse and family, and suffered abuse from the South Korean men, which led to "abandonment of the marital home, separation and divorce", Villasanta said.<ref name="abs-cbnnews.com"/>

There have been several murders of mail-order brides in South Korea. On 24 May 2011, one South Korean man "stabbed his Vietnamese wife to death while the couple's 19-day-old baby lay next to her. The man, a farmer, had been matched up with his foreign bride through a broker. In 2010, another Vietnamese woman was killed by her husband a week after they were married. In 2008, a Vietnamese woman jumped from an apartment building to her death after being abused by her husband and mother-in-law."<ref name="independent.co.uk"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/south-korea/110601/vietnam-integration-foreign-brides?page=0,0|title=For better or worse: foreign brides in South Korea|work=GlobalPost|access-date=8 May 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017094131/http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/south-korea/110601/vietnam-integration-foreign-brides?page=0,0|archive-date=17 October 2015}}</ref>

In November 2009, Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Luis T. Cruz warned Filipina women against marrying Korean men. He said in recent months that the Philippine Embassy in Seoul has received complaints from Filipina wives of abuses committed by their Korean husbands that caused separation, divorce and abandonment.<ref name="The Korea Times"/><ref>[http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/pinoy-migration/11/22/09/korea-–-pinoy-mixed-marriages-and-tensions-multicultural-family abs-cbnnews.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130402162906/http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/pinoy-migration/11/22/09/korea-%E2%80%93-pinoy-mixed-marriages-and-tensions-multicultural-family |date=2 April 2013 }}</ref> As language and cultural differences become an issue, the Filipina women are regarded as commodities bought for a price.<ref name="The Korea Times"/>

=== Malaysia ===
Mail-order brides travelled to Malaysia to marry Malaysian men. Mail-order brides include women from Vietnam, Indonesia, and China.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hamid|first=Rashitha A.|title='Mail-order brides' leave Malaysian hubbies in a tight spot|url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2013/07/03/mailorder-brides-leave-malaysian-hubbies-in-a-tight-spot|access-date=2021-10-03|website=The Star|date=3 July 2013 |language=en}}</ref>

===Singapore===
Singapore has received Vietnamese women as mail order brides.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://tnp.straitstimes.com/news/singapore-news/viet-woman-saves-year-fly-singapore-hope-finding-husband |title=Viet woman saves up for a year to fly to Singapore in hope of finding a husband |last1=TAN |first1=JUDITH |date=20 September 2015 |newspaper=the new paper |access-date=15 July 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011113551/http://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore-news/viet-woman-saves-year-fly-singapore-hope-finding-husband |archive-date=11 October 2016 }}</ref>

===Taiwan===
{{Main|Vietnamese migrant brides in Taiwan}}
Vietnamese and Uzbek mail order brides have gone to Taiwan for marriage.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brides-taiwan-idUSTP5166420070505|title=Taiwan men seek mail-order brides from Vietnam|date=5 May 2017|access-date=1 February 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170310061108/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-brides-taiwan-idUSTP5166420070505|archive-date=10 March 2017|newspaper=Reuters}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/05/the-plight-of-vietnams-mail-order-brides/257814/|title=The Plight of Vietnam's 'Mail-Order' Brides|first=Andrew|last=Billo|work=theatlantic.com|access-date=1 February 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170511114917/https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/05/the-plight-of-vietnams-mail-order-brides/257814/|archive-date=11 May 2017|date=30 May 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pov4sPw8mg8|title=烏茲別克女傳統 工程師娶妻滿意|last=中華電視公司|date=20 May 2010|access-date=1 February 2017|via=YouTube|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811010855/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pov4sPw8mg8|archive-date=11 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiljqUPmqoo|title=烏茲別克美女 百萬優生新娘|date=20 May 2010|access-date=1 February 2017|via=YouTube|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704063036/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiljqUPmqoo|archive-date=4 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoRf3Jjts0Y|title=花150萬娶烏茲別克新娘 回台如「老佛爺」|last=中時電子報|date=13 October 2011|access-date=1 February 2017|via=YouTube|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713171140/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoRf3Jjts0Y|archive-date=13 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZvzcAkldPk|title=自認被歧視 烏茲別克妻揮刀掐女店員頸|last=TomoNews 台灣|date=8 May 2013|access-date=1 February 2017|via=YouTube|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709053823/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZvzcAkldPk|archive-date=9 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=11 July 2014|title=Behind the smiles of Vietnam's flight attendants|url=http://tuoitrenews.vn/features/23880/behind-the-smiles-of-vietnams-flight-attendants|newspaper=Tuoi Tre|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160713212640/http://tuoitrenews.vn/features/23880/behind-the-smiles-of-vietnams-flight-attendants|archive-date=13 July 2016}}</ref>{{Excessive citations inline|date=March 2025}} Domestic violence and other problems that Vietnamese women faced during the marriages in Taiwan.<ref>{{Cite web |title='He beat me when I was pregnant' – Vietnamese marriage migrants and domestic violence in Taiwan |url=https://womenandmigration.com/case-study/taiwan/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126155501/https://womenandmigration.com/case-study/taiwan/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=26 November 2021 |access-date=2022-07-13 |website=Women & Migration |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Turkmenistan===
On 4 June 2001, Turkmenian President [[Saparmurat Niyazov]] (also known as Turkmenbashi) authorized a decree that required foreigners to pay a $50,000 fee to marry a Turkmen citizen (regardless of how they met), and to live in the country and own property for one year. Authorities indicated that the law was designed to protect women from being duped into abusive relationships.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav061901.shtml|title=Turkmenistan's Marriage Decree Helps Deepen the Isolation of Citizens|work=EurasiaNet.org|access-date=8 May 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017094131/http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav061901.shtml|archive-date=17 October 2015}}</ref>
In June 2005, Niyazov scrapped the $50,000 and the property-owning requirements.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/06/c2984fe7-fbca-4bc1-98d3-d5d4b42bfded.html|title=Turkmenistan: Marriage Gets Cheaper As Turkmenbashi Drops $50,000 Dollar Foreigners' Fee|work=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty|date=8 April 2008 |access-date=8 May 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706085749/http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/06/c2984fe7-fbca-4bc1-98d3-d5d4b42bfded.html|archive-date=6 July 2008|last1=Saidazimova |first1=Gulnoza }}</ref>

===United States===
{{Citations needed section|date=March 2025}}
U.S. immigration law provides protection for brides once they arrive. "In 1996, Congress passed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Responsibility Act... Section 652 of this legislation specifically addresses the mail-order bride industry".<ref name="Order Bride Case Study 2010">"Russian Mail Order Bride Case Study." Welcome to American University, Washington, DC USA. Web. 10 October 2010.</ref>

On 6 January 2006, President [[George W. Bush]] signed the [[International Marriage Broker Regulation Act]] (IMBRA) as part of the [[Violence Against Women Act]].<ref>[http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h109-3402 "Violence against women"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204043909/http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h109-3402 |date=4 February 2012 }}, 109th U.S. Congress (2005–2006)</ref>
In enacting IMBRA, Congress was responding to claims by the [[Tahirih Justice Center]] (TJC), a woman's advocacy group, that mail-order brides were susceptible to domestic abuse because they are unfamiliar with the laws, language and customs of their new home. The TJC insisted that special legislation was needed to protect them.<ref>[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/07/05/politics/main561828.shtml "Mail Order Bride in Works"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060615130356/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/07/05/politics/main561828.shtml |date=15 June 2006}}, CBS News 5 July 2003</ref> The TJC asked Congress to consider several notable cases mentioned in the [[Congressional Record]]. Critics of IMBRA claim that the TJC failed to ask Congress to consider the relative amount of abuse between mail-order bride couples and other couples (including the thousands of spousal murders that occurred in the US over the past 15 years).

Two federal lawsuits (''European Connections & Tours v. Gonzales'', N.D. Ga. 2006; ''AODA v. Gonzales'', S.D. Ohio 2006) sought to challenge IMBRA on constitutional grounds. The AODA case was terminated when the plaintiffs withdrew their claim. The European Connections case ended when the judge ruled against the plaintiff, finding the law constitutional regarding a dating company.

On 26 March 2007, U.S. District Judge [[Clarence Cooper (judge)|Clarence Cooper]] dismissed with [[prejudice (legal term)|prejudice]] a suit for injunctive relief filed by European Connections, agreeing with Attorney General [[Alberto Gonzales]] and TJC that IMBRA is a constitutional exercise of Congressional authority to regulate for-profit dating websites and agencies where the primary focus is on introducing Americans to foreigners. Additionally, the federal court specifically found that: "the rates of domestic violence against immigrant women are much higher than those of the U.S. population". According to a compilation of disaggregated samples of Asian ethnicities from local communities, Asian women in the United States reported intimate physical and/or sexual violence of 21 to 55 percent in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |date=26 October 2020 |title=Facts & Stats Report: Domestic Violence in Asian and Pacific Islander Homes, 2020 |url=https://www.api-gbv.org/resources/facts-stats-dv-api-homes/ |access-date=2022-07-13 |website=Asian Pacific Institute on Gender Based Violence Website |language=en-US}}</ref> The judge also compared background checks on American men to background checks on [[firearm]] buyers by stating, "However, just as the requirement to provide background information as a prerequisite to purchasing a firearm has not put gun manufacturers out of business, there is no reason to believe that IMBs will be driven from the marketplace by IMBRA".

====Legal issues====
{{How-to|section|date=June 2023}}

Marriage agencies are legal in almost all countries. On 6 January 2006, the United States Congress enacted [[IMBRA]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h109-3402|title=Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (2006; 109th Congress H.R. 3402) – GovTrack.us|work=GovTrack.us|access-date=8 May 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204043909/http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h109-3402|archive-date=4 February 2012}}</ref> which requires certain actions of some businesses prior to selling a foreign woman's address to a US citizen or resident or otherwise facilitating contact, including the following:
*The man must complete a questionnaire on his criminal and marital background
*The business must obtain the man's record from the [[United States National Sex Offenders Public Registry]] database<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nsopr.gov/|title=United States Department of Justice National Sex Offender Public Website|author=NSOPW|access-date=8 May 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505234611/http://www.nsopr.gov/|archive-date=5 May 2014}}</ref>
*The questionnaire and record must be translated into the woman's native language and provided to her
*The woman must certify that she agrees to permit communication
*A lifetime limit of two [[K-1 visa]]s is imposed, with a waiver required for the approval of any subsequent fiancée visa

=====Visa regulations=====
To bring a spouse into the United States, Form I-130 must be filed, which is an immigrant petition on behalf of a relative. After that, a K-3/K-4 & V-1/V-2 Entry Visa for Spouse must be filed.<ref>"Apply for Green Card Through Marriage." Apply for US Immigration Services: USCIS, Green Card, US Citizenship, US Visas, Forms. Immigration Direct, 2007–2010. Web. 12 November 2010.</ref> The Immigration and Nationalization Service advises that "in some cases, it may be to a couple's advantage to pursue a [[K visa|K-1 fiancée visa]] before getting married. In other cases, applicants may find that it is more cost effective to get married abroad and then apply for an immigrant visa overseas. In many cases, the K-1 visa application process takes just as long as the immigrant visa process". The cost of the visa may be around $2000.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://brightbrides.org/blog/how-to-get-a-visa-for-a-foreign-wife | title=How To Get A Visa For A Foreign Wife| date=17 May 2020}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=June 2023}} Couples must remain together at least two years. There were 849,000 female naturalized citizens between the ages of 20 and 29 and 2,084,000 women of the same age living without U.S. citizenship in 2016, accounting for 13.3% of the female population of that age bracket.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.census.gov/topics/population/foreign-born/data/tables.2016.html | title=Foreign Born Data Tables}}</ref> "Despite well over 2,000 mail-order marriages a year, there is no information on the amount of mail-order brides entering the United States. The purpose of this law is two-fold: to protect the safety of mail-order brides and to prevent fraud".<ref name="Order Bride Case Study 2010" />

==See also==
*[[Picture bride]]
*[[Romance scam]]
*[[Cherry Blossoms (marriage agency)]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=lanctot>{{Cite book |last=Lanctot |first=Gustave |year=1952 |title=Filles de joie ou filles du roi |publisher=Les Éditions Chantecler Ltée |location=Montreal}}</ref>
<ref name=zug>{{cite book |last=Zug |first=Marcia A. |year=2016 |title=Buying a Bride: An Engaging History of Mail-Order Matches |publisher=NYU Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GwDMCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA36 |isbn=978-0814771815}}</ref>
<ref name=beauman>{{cite book |last=Beauman |first=Fran |year=2020 |title=Matrimony, Inc. |publisher=Pegasus Books |publication-place=New York |isbn=978-1-64313-578-6 |oclc=1143650024}}</ref>
<ref name=enss>{{cite book |last=Enss |first=Chris |year=2012 |title=Object: Matrimony: The Risky Business of Mail-Order Matchmaking on the Western Frontier |publisher=TwoDot |isbn=978-0-7627-9072-2}}</ref>}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
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* {{cite book |last=Coates |first=Timothy J. |title=Convicts and Orphans: Forced and State-sponsored Colonizers in the Portuguese Empire, 1550-1755 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PJ7ORZ5Gx5oC&pg=PA121 |date=2001 |publisher=Stanford University Press |location=Redwood City, California |isbn=978-0-8047-3359-5}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Constable |first1=Nicole |title=Mail order brides |journal=The International Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality |date=2015 |pages=721–817 |doi=10.1002/9781118896877.wbiehs276|isbn=978-1-4051-9006-0 }}
* {{cite book |ref={{harvid|The Indonesian Quarterly|1973}} |title=The Indonesian Quarterly |volume=2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RK9uAAAAMAAJ&q=Besides+which+the+Portuguese+Crown+tended+to+discourage+women+from+going+out+to+the+Asian+and+African+colonies,+with+the+sole+exception+of+the+orlas+do+Rey+%28+orphans+of+the+King%29+who+were+orphan+girls+of+marriageable+age+who+were+sent |date=1973 |publisher=Yayasan Proklamasi, Centre for Strategic and International Studies |location=[[Jakarta]], Indonesia}}
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* {{cite book |last=Sarkissian |first=Margaret |title=D'Albuquerque's Children: Performing Tradition in Malaysia's Portuguese Settlement |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fRHYk6Izi0IC&q=portuguese+orphan+girls&pg=PA22 |date=15 December 2000 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |isbn=978-0-226-73498-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Stephen |first=S. Jeyaseela |title=Literature, Caste and Society: The Masks and Veils |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tB8SvlQqi0YC&q=portuguese+orphan+girls&pg=PA271 |date=2006 |publisher=Kalpaz|location=Delhi, India |isbn=978-81-7835-448-4}}
* {{cite book |last=Telfer |first=William |title=The treasure of São Roque: a sidelight on the counter-reformation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6KZbAAAAMAAJ&q=portuguese+orphan+maldives |date=1932 |publisher=Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge |location=London, UK |isbn=9785871241141}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* "Romance on a Global Stage", a 2003 anthropology study by Nicole Constable, Professor of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh

{{Types of marriages|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mail-Order Bride}}
[[Category:Human migration]]
[[Category:Matchmaking]]
[[Category:Interracial marriage]]