IELTS Brides: Armed with visa, Punjabi parents seek grooms to fund girls' education

Tribune News Service

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, August 24

Earlier, families sold their land and houses to settle their children abroad. Now, a new trend has emerged. Parents are looking for marriages for their 18 or 19-year-old daughters in a bid to financially support their pursuit of education abroad.

Marriage bureaus active

• Messages and posts are being circulated by marriage bureaus on social media platforms
• These posts read, “Girl’s study visa arrived, package Rs 25 lakh, interested families can enquire.”

The parents seek grooms, who can shoulder the financial burden of their daughters’ educational expenses. Messages and posts are being circulated by marriage bureaus on social media platforms. These posts read, “Girl’s study visa arrived, package Rs 25 lakh, interested families can enquire.”

Within these packages, expenses associated with the girl’s study visa as well as the cost of marriage ceremonies, court registrations, travel and other miscellaneous expenditures are included. Matrimonial posts even assure the security of the funds through methods such as giving cheques or using the family’s property as collateral with the groom’s family.

Raminder Singh, the proprietor of a local marriage bureau, shed light on this evolving trend. He explained that previously, such arrangements were often made discreetly, involving intermediaries like immigration agents or IELTS centre heads, who took commission for their roles. However, the scene has changed and the families are now more openly engaging marriage bureaus to connect with prospective partners who can fund their daughters’ overseas studies.

He reveals that these days, matrimonial groups are inundated with such posts. He said, “There’s a growing craze for securing opportunities for children to settle abroad. Approximately, 90 per cent of the marriage profiles we’re receiving pertain to identifying suitable NRI boys or girls.”

Prof MP Singh, a social activist from Jalandhar, has been vociferously opposing the trend and highlighting the challenges faced by students studying abroad. He expresses concern about the fate of students who, despite venturing abroad for education, often find themselves without job.

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