Mail-order bride is a label applied to a woman who publishes her intent to marry someone from another – usually more developed – country. ^[1]

Historically, mail order brides were women who listed themselves in catalogs and were selected by men for marriage. Sometimes the men and women involved were citizens of different countries, e.g. women from European countries moving to the United States during the 18th and 19th centuries, and sometimes they involved citizens of the same country.

Mail-order brides traditionally hail from developing countries, major examples being Colombia, Venezuela, Thailand and to a lesser extent from Mexico, Philippines, Vietnam, India and China. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, however, large numbers of eastern European women also advertised themselves in such a way; primarily being from Russia, Ukraine and Moldova. In the past, international marriage agencies such as Cherry Blossoms allowed women to sign up to be listed in picture magazines; now the Internet has largely supplanted this method. Men who list themselves in such publications may be referred to as mail-order husbands. Nations that often receive mail-order brides are the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, South Korea, Taiwan, Germany, and Australia.