Buying a Wife: Is It Possible, Where & How to Buy a Wife in 2024?
41,000 foreign women came to the US in 2019 to marry Americans. And while that doesn’t seem like much compared to the overall 2 million marriages, mail order brides popularity seems to grow over the years.
| 💌 Best mail order bride sites |
SofiaDate, SakuraDate |
| ❤️ Best international dating sites for marriage |
La-Date, GoldenBride |
| 🌎 Countries where you can buy a wife | China, Vietnam, India |
Today we answer the most pressing questions. Can you buy a wife? Where and how to buy a wife? Is it legal? And how much does it cost?
Best Dating Sites Where You Can Find a Wife
Most Popular Choice 😍
SofiaDate
≈ 3.9K
girls online
≈ 35.7K
monthly visits
≈ 3.9K
≈ 35.7K
SakuraDate
≈ 17.9K
girls online
≈ 163K
monthly visits
≈ 17.9K
≈ 163K
Editor's choice 👍
LatiDate
≈ 3.1K
girls online
≈ 27.8K
monthly visits
≈ 3.1K
≈ 27.8K
Buying a wife: How it all began?
It may seem like the mail order bride service is a modern invention, but the tradition of finding foreign women to marry using communication tools is nearly 400 years old. Here are some surprising facts about historical mail order bride marriages:
- Jamestown Colony of Virginia was the first in the US to advertise marriage opportunities among English girls, as the town was on the verge of collapse due to a predominantly male population. However, the ad campaign worked, and over 150 mail order brides came to Jamestown between 1619 and 1621.
- New France faced the same problem, so King Louis XIV sent over 800 young ladies to the colony between 1663 and 1673. As the king covered the cost of travel, the French mail order wives were known as “King’s daughters.”
- Picture brides became popular between 1880 and 1910 when Japanese women would exchange photos with American men to find potential husbands across the ocean. Women from Korea, Italy, Greece, and Armenia came to the US in the same way.
Although the mail order bride movement dwindled by the 1950s, it did not disappear. It merely transformed and adapted to the opportunities granted by technological advances.
Can you buy a wife? Is buying a wife real in 2024?
Buying a wife is illegal across the globe, as it’s considered human trafficking and a violation of basic human rights.
However, meeting a mail order bride and marrying her is 100% legal. The modern meaning of the term implies using online tools, like international dating sites, to find potential matches, establish relationships, and date until you’re ready to tie the knot. And while men may incur expenses, they do not purchase women. Instead, they cover dating costs, which are only slightly different from the expenses of dating locally.
Where & how to buy a wife?
Now that we’ve established what “buy a wife” means in current terms, let’s go over your options for finding legit mail order brides online and offline.
| Rank | Site | Free Link | |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | TheLuckyDate |
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| #2 | UkraineBride4you |
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| #3 | SofiaDate |
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| #4 | JollyRomance |
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| #5 | EasternHoneys |
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| #6 | LaDate |
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Mail order bride & dating sites for marriage (1-3)
Although there’s no Amazon to buy a bride online, mail order bride sites and dating sites tailored to people seeking long-term relationships and marriage provide the most comfortable and hassle-free experience for men and women alike. Aside from the expected communication tools, they take over the profile screening and safety protocols to reduce scam risks. Let’s go over a few popular options in this category.
1. TheLuckyDate
Best for:
Chatting with ladies from all over the world
Our Experts Say:
TheLuckyDate works best if you have no specific destination in mind regarding mail order brides. Although mail and live chat are the only communication options currently available, the platform also tests audio messaging. Overall, the easy signup and navigation make it a perfect choice for people new to international dating.
More Information
TheLuckyDate
Gender ratio:
31%
69%
Visits/Month:
46K
2. UkraineBride4you
Best for:
Serious relationships with Slavic ladies
Our Experts Say:
UkraineBride4You will connect you with Ukrainian, Polish, and Russian mail order brides and let you enjoy chatting, exchanging photos, and watching camshare to get to know your future wife better. And gift and flower delivery can help make the long-distance relationship feel more natural.
More Information
UkraineBride4you
Gender ratio:
29%
71%
Visits/Month:
27K
3. SofiaDate
Best for:
Long-term relationships and marriage
Our Experts Say:
SofiaDate is the ultimate mail order bride website, with all the necessary tools to bridge the distance and build a strong relationship foundation. The platform lets users exchange mail, audio, and video messages, send virtual and real gifts, and more. And winks, stickers, and other small features make it perfect for those too shy to start a conversation.
More Information
SofiaDate
Gender ratio:
33%
67%
Visits/Month:
53K
International dating sites (4-6)
Unlike mail order bride services, international dating sites are not exclusive to people seeking serious relationships and marriage, so pre-screening profiles and establishing common relationship goals are necessary. On the other hand, international platforms offer more potential matches in popular mail order bride destinations, including Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Asia. Let’s look at the top options for each region based on our research and personal experience.
4. JollyRomance
Best for:
Chatting with gorgeous Slavic women
Our Experts Say:
JollyRomance is easy to handle if you’re fond of Facebook or Instagram, as the platform uses a similar feed to present the latest pictures of the most active ladies. You can contact any of them via mail or live chat, exchange photos, or watch your favorites’ live streams.
More Information
JollyRomance
Gender ratio:
24%
76%
Visits/Month:
66K
5. EasternHoneys
Best for:
Finding Asian singles to date or marry
Our Experts Say:
EasternHoneys provides multiple ways to find your match, from the standard search filters to the Tinder-like swiping feature and Instagram-like newsfeed. It’s up to you to browse ladies’ profiles and reach out to those who share your marriage ambitions via live chat or mail.
More Information
EasternHoneys
Gender ratio:
30%
70%
Visits/Month:
270K
6. La-Date
Best for:
Meeting hot Latin mail order brides
Features we liked
Welcome bonus, free access to other profiles
Our Experts Say:
LaDate will captivate your attention with free live streams and an ongoing feed of gorgeous photos, so you may have trouble picking one woman to settle down with. So make the most of the live chat features, including photo messages and virtual gifts, to stand out and make an impression.
More Information
LaDate
Gender ratio:
35%
65%
Visits/Month:
150K
Traveling abroad
Most countries have a favorable opinion of the US, though there are a few notable exceptions in the Middle East and Asia, fuelled by historical or political reasons. So you should have no problem traveling and meeting local women, dating and proposing if you’re ready to face cultural differences and language barrier head-on.
Unfortunately, unless you travel on business with the company covering your expenses, meeting in person can significantly increase the mail order bride cost for you, especially if you are not lucky enough to meet your soulmate on the first trip. All things considered, online dating is a more efficient and inexpensive way to meet and date your future wife.
What is the best country for buying a wife?
There’s no accounting for personal taste, so our list of the best countries to find a wife is merely an overview of the possibilities open to you. Let’s go over a few countries where arranged marriages have been the norm for a long time, making modern mail order brides services extra popular.
China
Selling daughters to the highest bidder is a time-honored Chinese tradition that has persisted for centuries. Even though the practice of buying a wife has been illegal in China since 1997, it thrives in some rural regions of China, even as the prices of brides surge as a result of the dramatic gender imbalance.
Still, Chinese women are more likely than ever to seek foreign husbands as gender inequalities persist, limiting women’s education and career opportunities. In 2019, over 1,200 Chinese mail order brides came to America to marry local men and start international families. And the trend is likely to persist in the coming years.
Vietnam
Just like other Asian mail order brides, Vietnamese ladies were exceedingly popular among American men in the late 1800s and early 1900s in the wake of the Civil War and an attempt to correct the gender imbalance. And Korean brides remain just as attractive to Chinese men these days for the same reasons. After all, China’s unwise regulations led to a shortage of 30 million women. So men are willing to pay to get Vietnamese wives.
At the same time, American men demonstrate a reignited interest in Vietnamese mail order wives. For example, in 2019, over 2,000 Vietnamese ladies entered the US on K-1 visas to marry American men. They are extremely popular among Asian mail order brides, second only to Filipina ladies.
Korea
Similar to Japanese women entering the US at the beginning of the 20th century to find husbands, Korean ladies flooded America in the early 1900s, and the end of the Korean war saw another influx of American-Korean traditional and mail order marriages.
Nowadays, mail order brides services remain popular in Korea, as more women wish to break free from the traditional gender roles and follow their passions, build careers, and start families with men who know how to appreciate their wives. Unsurprisingly, Korean mail order brides are among the most popular among Asian girls. For instance, in pre-pandemic 2019, nearly 500 Korean ladies received K-1 visas to enter the US and get married to American citizens.
Funnily enough, the local government provides single men with subsidies to bring foreign wives to South Korea to provide a population boost. A man can get up to $8,800 to purchase a wife by covering the airfare, wedding expenses, and other costs.
India
The tradition of buying a wife or “Paro” is still very much alive in India, even if the practice isn’t as widespread as it used to be a few decades ago. Still, thousands of girls, often underage, are essentially sold to their future husbands to live out their lives in poverty, often facing domestic abuse.
However, modern-day international mail order bride services offer a completely different experience for all parties involved. Considering over 800 Indian women entered the US on K-1 fiance visas in 2019, it’s safe to say their exotic beauty, calm demeanor, and dedication remain popular among American men.
Our Editor`s conclusion
Nelly Perry
Author
The modern concept of buying a wife online shares similarities with the French “King’s daughters” and the “picture wives” of the early colonial days. And while barbaric arranged marriages persist in some countries even now, using a mail order brides service is a perfectly legal and comfortable way to enter the international dating pool and find your other half. And unlike international travel, mail order bride websites do not require a huge upfront investment and offer multiple benefits.
F.A.Q.
What is the best way to buy a wife?
Using a mail order bride site is the safest and most efficient option, as you can get to know several potential matches and establish compatibility before spending the time and money necessary for international travel and face-to-face meetings.
How much to buy a wife?
Mail order brides sites are not online stores. They don’t list prices! Your overall expenses will include the dating site fees, travel expenses, visa and immigration fees, as well as wedding costs. Depending on the country your mail order wife comes from and your lifestyle, the overall expenses can range from around $8,000 to over $40,000.
Is it still legal to buy a bride?
Buying foreign mail order brides is illegal, but you can use mail order bride sites to meet women, build international relationships, and help them come to America to marry you.
Our Editorial Team
Written byNelly Perry, Dating Expert
Nelly is our experienced writer who clearly understands how international dating works. She has been using international dating apps for more than 3 years, and she has dating profiles on all the most popular services that exist in 2023. Nelly understands how to analyze information, how to test the websites, and how to find out what an average user of a dating website wants. As a certified writer with a master's degree in Writing and English Literature, Nelly has solid knowledge about delivering useful information to our readers.
