I think main issue here is financial. Nowadays it’s not a big deal to buy tickets and rent hotel rooms and fly places to meet people and hang out before making bigger decisions.

It becomes an issue when neither party can afford it. It’s possibly why you need parental approval.

Normally as much as we want our families to like our partners, adults don’t really need anyone’s approval. You are in your 30s and can date or marry whoever. It becomes an issue only if parents have to foot the bill. I think you might want to really analyze the situation and come up with realistic steps. Otherwise your parents will certainly not approve of this (if they have to buy tickets or host the guy etc).