When you date internationally, sooner or later you’ll end up marrying someone from another country.
But with a foreign marriage comes a variety of questions, such as whether a foreign marriage is legal, if there are any advantages to marrying a foreigner, and what you should consider before you tie the knot and make it legal and binding with your foreign true love.
If you are on your foreign romance journey or thinking of diving into the international waters for love, I’ve got everything you need to know.
Reasons Why You Can Trust Krystyna
- Faithfully reviewed over 500 International online dating and matchmaking services
- She has been testing online dating services for over 10 years.
- She guarantees to review and revise the content regularly.
- Author of dating ebooks, including ‘International Dating Digest For Men: Finding Love Overseas’.
- She has contributed in many publications including Notsalmon.com, Marriage.com, or Medium.com.
Benefits of Marrying Someone from Another Country
While you could settle down with a local beauty or your high-school sweetheart, there are various benefits to marrying a foreigner:
- You get to learn about a new culture, traditions, and language, which keeps you on your toes.
- Foreign ladies are beautiful, and they have a lot more going for them than having good looks. If they come from a traditional background, they expect the man to take the lead in the relationship and marriage, and this could be right up your alley.
- You can settle in your home country, hers, or anywhere in the world. I’m from Ukraine, my husband’s from Germany, and we’ve settled on the island of Malta.
- Your kids will be well-rounded, having been exposed to different cultures, languages, and ways of thinking. This sets them up for success as they’ll be more tolerant and open-minded.
- You’ll have a close-knit second family (your wife’s) who’ll become like a second mom and dad and a set of siblings for you. Or if you had a toxic family growing up, these people will take you in and love you unconditionally (well, as long as you treat their daughter with the utmost respect).
- You’ll have interesting stories to share about how you met your wife, how you fell in love, how you decided she was the one for you, and how your relationship progressed from dating to fully committed.
Marriage With a Foreigner: Legal or Not?
When you get married to a foreigner, it’s legal – as long as you follow the correct legal steps according to both your home countries.
However, it’s essential to note that some governments do not want their citizens marrying foreigners, and tying the knot is illegal – if you file your marriage in the country where it’s illegal.
The Philippines is one of the countries in the world that bans foreign marriages. The loophole is that you shouldn’t file your marriage to a Filipina in the Philippines (read also: Dating Filipino Women: The Complete Guide). Get married in your home country or anywhere else in the world.
Marrying a Foreigner: What to Consider
When you are ready to hitch your life to someone else – whether they are from the same country as you are or from somewhere else, keep the following in mind:
The Start of Your Romance Journey: The Service You Choose
Your journey to foreign love starts with an international dating site, a matchmaking agency, or a romance tour. You should ensure that the service you use is legit, reputable, safe and secure, and affordable.
How can you tell which is which when there are thousands of dating platforms and services to choose from?
Homework. That’s where it starts.
See what you can learn about the company and platform on their website, and then expand your search to in-depth reviews about the service and independent third-party reviews of users or previous members. (Or read my dating sites and apps reviews.)
The Culture, Language Barrier, and More
Misunderstandings arise even when you and your romantic partner speak the same language. So that’s double-fold true when you speak different languages and come from different cultures and traditions.
It might scare you off to think of how easily your foreign lady can misinterpret something and it could be the make or break of you as a couple, or you may think communication errors are sweet and a challenge.
It doesn’t really matter which way you sway. The most important factor here is patience, which you’ll need loads of but it’ll be so worth it when you say “I do” to the lady of your dreams.
The Danger of Romance Scams
Lots of companies and individuals operate romance or dating scams with the intent of making extra money, stealing your personal information, or taking your identity to commit more crimes or blackmail you with schemes.
One adage remains true: If it’s too good to be true when you are dating a foreign lady, run. Red flags are red flags, not challenges or thinking you are delusional. You aren’t.
Watch out for the common telltale signs that you are on the radar of a scammer and get out of dodge before you become a victim.
The Paperwork and Expenses
When you date and want to marry a foreigner, there is a lot of paperwork and expenses to take into account.
There are the visas and planning trips to visit each other so you can spend time face to face and not with the distance of computer screens between you. And once you decide you want to marry, depending on where you live and want to live, there’s even more paperwork and conditions you need to meet.
For example, if you are a U.S. citizen and want you and your foreign beauty to settle in the United States, you need to apply for a fiancé or K-1 visa. Requirements for this visa include that you should have an income that’s 125% higher than the poverty line and that your relationship is genuine.
You can marry your foreign romantic partner if they have a K-1 visa; if you opt to marry them elsewhere, you need to apply for a CR-1 visa for them.
Good to know? If you are in a same-sex marriage, it is legal in the US but only if you get married in a country where these marriages are legal. There are currently only 34 countries out of around 200 where marriage equality is legal. Some of these countries include Brazil, South Africa, Australia, the UK, and Canada.
Build Intimacy to Get to Really Know Each Other
You should know what you let yourself in for before you get hitched. That means having plenty of conversations with the woman of your dreams about who she is, where she’s from, and what her expectations of an ideal partner are. You should also share, and talk about your hopes and dreams and fears.
So many people marry potential but I can promise you, marry the reality of who your partner is now. That is the only way you truly know what you are in for.
Talk About the Hard Stuff
While you should build emotional, intellectual, and experiential intimacy with your partner, you should also talk about the hard stuff. Some of the topics you’ll want to know where you stand are:
- What does marriage mean to you?
- Where will you live? Your country, hers, somewhere else?
- Do you want children, how many, and how are you planning on raising them?
- How will you deal with financial challenges or opportunities?
When you know where you stand and you’ve done intensive pre-marriage counseling (whether through a counselor, religious leader, or online like these pre-marriage questions from ZenCare or these from Anchor Light Therapy), you can build a stronger and healthier marriage.
Married Life
Married life isn’t quite the same as dating. When you date, you kinda always have a way out, or at least a cheaper one than getting a divorce. But when you get engaged, you are clearly stating your intent to spend the rest of your life loving, caring for, supporting, and being there for your loved one.
These days, marriage vows are easily broken because we live in a culture of exchange and convenience. If you aren’t happy, simply find the next best thing. But making a life-long commitment should be honored, and you should know that working on your marriage to make it healthy and to make it work is a constant and permanent job.
Are you up for the challenge?
International Marriage: Pros & Cons
If you are looking for an international mariage, there are pros and cons to consider:
- If you prefer women who are more traditionally minded, then a marriage to a foreign bride is right for you.
- You get to experience new cultures and traditions, keeping your life interesting.
- You can learn a new language with the help of your international partner.
- Your kids will be exposed to at least two cultures, enriching their lives.
- You can live in your home country or your wife’s, or alternate.
- There’s a lot of paperwork and expenses involved in proving your relationship is real.
- An international relationship could potentially be a lot more expensive than dating and marrying someone local. Think about the online dating or matchmaking costs, traveling to meet your date, the paperwork for visits and immigration, and more.
- The language and culture barriers are real, and if you’re not careful, clear, and patient, your relationship will either become toxic or fall apart.
- You’ll need to wait between six and nine months for the U.S. embassy to process the K-1 visa application, while if you marry someone locally, it’s a quicker process.
FAQs about Marrying a Foreigner
It’s your choice whether you decide to marry someone who lives in your town or country versus marrying a foreigner who lives in another country. There are more costs involved when you tie the knot with a foreigner compared to getting hitched to a local.
One of the main benefits of marrying a foreigner is that you have a wider dating pool to find the person who is right for you. Other benefits include bragging rights that your wife is an exotic woman, learning about a new country, culture, and language, and raising kids in a multicultural home.
It is legal to marry a foreigner – in most countries. There are countries like the Philippines where it’s illegal for their ladies (especially) to marry a non-Filipino citizen but there is a way to get around it; simply register the marriage in another country.
It can be easy to find a foreign wife, but it can also be a lengthy, time-consuming, and pricey process. You need to register on the right international dating site that’s legit and secure, pay for communication services (in most cases), browse through profiles to see compatibility, chat up the ladies you are interested in, and then hope you’ve made a good impression so they’ll reply and you’ll start dating exclusively.
You can find a foreign wife on international dating sites like eHarmony, CuteOnly, and Elite Singles, via matchmaking agencies, or on romance tours from a reputable agency like LoveMe.com.
Final Thoughts
Plunging into marriage with a foreigner is quite the journey, and it’s essential to keep in mind that it can be a pricey one.
Your international romance partner and soon-to-be wife or husband is out there, and your romance journey starts with looking for the right person, connecting with a like-minded individual, and falling in love.
Good luck!
Wanna find out how to meet an amazing foreign woman and have experience in International dating, but you have no idea how to start it. Keep calm, we are right here to help! ☝️ Ask Krystyna
