International Arranged Marriages

In many countries around the world, husband and wife are brought together through an arranged marriage. In an arranged marriage, parents negotiate the marriage of their adult children, ideally to the benefit of both families.

An international arranged marriage occurs when the family of the husband or bride is living in a country, for example Canada, and wishes to find a spouse for their child from their home country. This can be a very happy union and is often thought by some cultures to be more successful than marriages in which the spouses met through a dating process.

An arranged marriage is a consensual marriage. It is not a forced marriage. Both husband and wife have to agree to the marriage. If the husband or bride has not consented to be married, the marriage will not be legal in Canada.

Just as with using an international dating or matchmaking agency, the information you get from the family of your potential husband or from a matchmaker or a friend might not be entirely accurate and, at times, it is difficult to verify. If you arrive in Canada and you find out that the information you were given about him was false, there is little legal action you can take against him or his family. Please consult a lawyer to determine what, if any, legal action you can take.

In an arranged marriage, the husband and wife have the same rights and responsibilities as they would in any marriage that is legally valid in Canada. As long as the marriage is recognized in Canada, an international arranged marriage is legally no different from any other marriage.