For non-Filipino men, marrying a Filipina may be about to get tougher.
If you're a foreigner planning on tying the knot with a Filipina sweetheart, you will soon need to prove your capacity to support your bride - if Philippine Congress gets its way.
A new legislation passed on second reading in the House of Representatives last week mandating additional requirements for male foreigners to want to marry Filipinas.
“The bill shall protect Filipino women against exploitation of foreigners who marry without evident means to support a family,” Pangasinan Rep. Marlyn Primicias-Agabas, who chairs the committee, was quoted in a Philippine Star report.
Cebu Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia. said some of the foreigners landing in the Philippines to marry Filipino women turn out to be vagabonds or social and moral derelicts in their own country.
“(For some) the real motive for marriage is only to take advantage and exploit our women by making them work for the family and worse, by sending them to prostitution and other degrading and dehumanising occupations,” she said.
“The exploitation of our Filipino women, through the so-called mail-order or pen-pal, Facebook and other internet-made marriages, has not only caused untold misery and suffering to our Filipino women but it has also brought dishonour and disgrace to the Filipino womanhood,” Garcia added.
Under the measure, the prospective foreign husband will be required to produce a certificate of good moral character and a certificate that he has a gainful trade, business, employment or other lawful source of income to be issued by his country’s diplomatic or consular official, in addition to the usual certificate of legal capacity.
The measure amends Article 21 of Executive Order 209, otherwise known as the Family Code.
The Philippines has been called the mail-order bride capital of the world since the 1970s. Today, the label is still so strongly associated with Filipino women that even a Google search of the word “Filipina” brings up almost a dozen such websites within the first thirty results.
The term “mail-order bride” refers to a woman who submits her photo and profile for display in a catalog or similar publication with the objective of marrying a foreign man. The phrase traditionally conjures images of young, impoverished, undereducated girls involved in “pen pal” relationships with much older, socially-alienated foreign men.

Top 10 countries in the mail order bride industry

The listed countries for getting a mail order bride are in no particular order according to top10.com

Russia

Russia is considered as the conservative home for sourcing mail order brides. The main reason for this is the biting shortage of marriageable husbands in the country. This being the case, it doesn’t come as a surprise to discover that there are so many Russian women looking for love outside their country or overseas. Russian women are brought up to marry and have children, and therefore their families or society at large expect them to get married at an early age.

Thailand

Thailand is a beautiful country with many striking women in terms of their appearance. Furthermore, it is one of the most known countries for sourcing mail order brides. Thailand brides are popular for their great and easy going personalities. It is not hard to find a Thai bride who is want to settle down with a much older man, making them all more well-liked by men all over the world. And if you want to retire overseas with your brand new foreign bride, Thailand is arguably the best destination the world over. Though Thai brides are considered as the best mail order women by the majority of men all over the world, they are facing stiff competition from Philippine and Chinese women.

China

China is the newest place for getting mail order brides across the globe. And all for a good reason; the country is awash with many beautiful women who want to get husbands overseas. Though the Chinese culture can be quite complicated and thus confusing for foreigners, it is a good place to source for intelligent and educated women.

Ukraine

If you like Eastern Europe women, then you probably should consider Ukrainian brides. To say the truth, if you look on sites such as Elena Models, you will discover that it has many brides from Ukraine. These brides may be confused for Russians but they are really Ukrainians. However, it is good to note that there is really very little difference between Russian or Ukrainian women as they are from the same culture.

Philippines

The Philippines is a serious competitor to Thailand when it comes to mail order brides. The women here love and quite beautiful, meaning it is a good place to source for a long life partner. And as it is, there are quite a lot of Filipino ladies on a number of Asian dating sites. The best part of the deal is that the majority of Filipino women are English speaking. So if you come from an English speaking country, then you won’t have any issues dating or even marrying a Filipino woman as opposed to dealing with either Chinese or Thai women. All the same, you really have to be cautious as the number of fraudulently Filipina dating sites is quite alarming.

Columbia

Colombia is the most popular country for people looking for Latin American women for marriage. And best of all, there are many authentic dating sites such as Latin American Cupid, Colombian Cupid, Latin Euro and the likes to help all those in need of getting a dream Colombian bride.

Japan

This is another popular destination for men looking for Asian mail order brides. The Japanese culture is quite popular around the world and the country is known to produce fantastic mannered women. Nevertheless, as Japan is quite an advanced economy, there are few women who need to marry outside their country borders and even fewer who want to get hooked up with older men.

Costa Rica

If you want a Latin American bride, then Costa Rica is a good country to source for one through a mail order. To make things even easier for men looking for Costa Rica brides, there are some companies such as A Foreign Affair that regularly run romance tours of Costa Rica. These companies enable people to check out several Ticas in a single paid vacation.

Dominican Republic

This Latin American country has the enviable reputation for having the sexiest and most beautiful women anywhere around the world. So if you like the darker skinned, curvy women, then you should probably make your order here. And best of all, the country is conveniently situated near the U.S., meaning if you are an American looking for a Dominican Republic mail order bride, then you won’t have to fly half way around the globe to get your dream partner.

Poland

Men interested in Eastern Europe brides should really consider looking for love in Poland. This country is easier to travel to when compared to Russia or even Ukraine. There is normally no visa requirement to travel here if you come from certain world countries. Many women from Poland are willing to get married to men from different cultures across the globe. There also many Polish women working in a number of Western countries, meaning you can be able to meet one even in your own country.