Gay Mail-Order Grooms: Catalog, Cost & Legality
Dating and marrying foreign nationals has always been and still is mainstream. However, people always think about this industry in a very “straight” context. But what about gay mail-order brides and gay mail-order grooms?
In short, they do exist, too. Yes, only 7% of people in the world identify as gay, but we shouldn’t rely too much on statistics. In particular, it’s known that there are a lot of gay Russian mail-order grooms migrating to the US, while only around 1% of men in Russia identify as gay just because it’s dangerous and nearly illegal.
So, how can one find a gay mail-order groom? Will it be easy, and how much will it cost? Read on, and you’ll find the answers.
Find the best foreign men looking for gay mail-order grooms
Need proof that gay mail-order husbands are real? Look no further—we’ve already found profiles of men who are currently looking for foreign partners on top international dating sites and mail-order bride platforms.
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Concept of gay mail-order brides & grooms
Basically, a gay mail-order bride and a gay mail-order groom are no different from straight mail-order brides. The only difference is that they’re looking for same-sex foreign partners.
A gay mail-order groom is a foreign man (usually from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, or Latin America) who is intentionally looking for a husband abroad.
He isn’t interested in something casual or just a relationship that goes nowhere—his main motivation is to find a future spouse, get married, and start a family.
Just like a mail-order bride, a mail-order groom doesn’t receive any financial compensation and has no financial interest overall. The desire to find a partner in another country is usually explained by multiple social, cultural, and personal factors, for example, failure to find the right person in a home country, negative previous relationship experiences, positive attitude to Western culture, and so on.
Сosts of finding gay mail-order grooms in 2024
Just like straight mail-order brides, gay mail-order grooms aren’t for sale. We mean, you can’t just pay a fixed price and get a foreign spouse.
However, a single man looking for a partner can meet him online, start an authentic relationship, meet his partner offline, then propose to him and get married. Costs vary, but you can take a look at some estimations below.
🌐 Online dating
The cost of online dating services will largely depend on the type of platform. International dating sites & mail-order bride websites work best for marriage-minded singles, so let’s take a look at the prices on the top platforms in this niche.
Dating/mail-order bride site | Costs of credits | Bonuses |
SofiaDate | From $2.99 for 35 credits | 30 free credits |
La-Date | From $2.99 for 20 credits | 20 free credits |
TheLuckyDate | From $2.99 for 2,000 credits | 2,000 free credits |
Note that though pricing policies are different, SofiaDate is actually a cheaper website because of the lower cost of credits and the average cost of chatting. Still, on all these websites, the total price for using premium services is more or less the same—though it seems TheLuckyDate is the cheapest website, the cost of messaging here will be the highest compared to the other two platforms.
All in all, they’re all in the same price range. On such top websites, you can expect to spend around $100 a month, so if you spend around six months looking for a boyfriend and building a relationship with him, you’ll spend around $600 in total.
✈️ Trips
The sum of money you’ll spend on traveling will depend on the location, duration of your trips, frequency, and your preferences.
Let’s take a look at the costs of three-week trips to some of the most popular mail-order groom countries:
- Russia — $1,400 + $1,000 for tickets
- Brazil — $1,700 + $800 for tickets
- Thailand — $1,700 + $900 for tickets
- Philippines — $1,400 + $1,000 for tickets
- South Africa — $1,800 + $1,200 for tickets
You can use these estimations, consider the number of trips, and plan your budget accordingly.
🛂 Costs of visas
The foreign boyfriend does not always pay for the visa for his fiance, but it’s still often the case. The cost of the visa is $1,200 in the US.
💰 Total
So, you are most likely to spend around $1,800 on a visa and online dating services. If we assume that you go to your groom’s home country once and stay for three weeks, the total cost of all the services will be around $3,500-$5,000.
Note that this estimation does not include additional expenses, like gifts or the cost of a wedding ceremony.
Legality of mail-order grooms
Note that mail-order marriages are legal in nearly all the countries of the world. The couple can legally marry if they can prove that their relationship is authentic, they are both single, one of the spouses is able to provide financial support for the other spouse at the early stages, and they’ve met in real life.
However, the situation with same-sex marriages is different for one simple reason—unfortunately, there are only 30+ countries where gay mail-order marriage is legal.
If you’re from a country where they are legal, the algorithm will be simple—your partner applies for a foreign fiance visa and stays. If you’re in a country where same-sex marriages are illegal, you can still live with your foreign partner, but you’ll need to search for alternatives; for example, your partner may apply for a business visa, student visa, etc.
Conclusion
The fact that mail-order groom marriages are less common than mail-order bride marriages doesn’t mean that they don’t take place in the US and other countries.
Moreover, international dating sites like SofiaDate and TheLuckyDate are rather versatile and may work for men looking for same-sex marriage and family-minded partners in other countries.