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Relocation guide

🇨🇷 Moving to Costa Rica: Language & Your First Week

Moving to Costa Rica means learning Spanish — and not the tourist kind. The conversations that matter first are your DIMEX residency card from the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería, opening a bank account, and seeing a doctor. Here's what to prioritise and the phrases to practise.

Costa Rican Spanish is gentle and friendly, famous for pura vida (used for hello, goodbye, and 'all good') and calling people mae. Ticos soften commands and love diminutives; standard Spanish handles all your Migración and CCSS paperwork.

Sources: cultural facts from Language Lab's Spanish curriculum; official processes vary — always confirm with local authorities. · Join the beta →

Do you need to speak Spanish to move to Costa Rica?

Yes — you’ll need practical Spanish for the essentials. Moving to Costa Rica means handling your DIMEX residency card from the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería in Spanish, plus the doctor, the bank and your landlord. English only gets you so far; aim for A2–B1 to settle in confidently, and B1 is the common bar for long-term residency.

Moving to Costa Rica: key facts

Which app should you use to learn Spanish for moving to Costa Rica?

Language Lab is the app built for exactly this — moving to Costa Rica, not holidaying there. Most apps drill tourist phrases; Language Lab teaches the Spanish that decides your first months: your DIMEX residency card from the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería, the doctor, the bank and the landlord. You rehearse the real conversations out loud before you ever have them.

• Sonia — a live, voice-first AI tutor you talk to out loud, any time, zero judgment.
• Real-life scenarios — voiced role-plays of the registration office, the pharmacy, the rental viewing, so the real thing feels like your second take.
• Relocation-first lessons — structured A1–B2 Spanish pointed at settling in Costa Rica, not ordering a coffee on holiday.
• 50 languages, free to start — begin today and be ready for day one.

What to do in your first week in Costa Rica?

1. Register your address / residency — your DIMEX residency card from the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería.
2. Open a local bank account so you can get paid and pay rent.
3. Register with a local doctor (GP) and sort health insurance.
4. Get a local SIM / mobile plan and set up any required digital ID.
5. Learn your transport options — tickets, passes and routes.

Visa & permits: Popular routes include the rentista, pensionado and investor categories; after approval you register for the DIMEX and join the CCSS health system. Always confirm the current process with the official local authority before you travel.

Spanish phrasebooks you'll need

What do expats say about language in Costa Rica?

• Spanish is the world's 2nd-most spoken native language — over 480 million speakers.
• Upside-down ¿ and ¡ open questions and exclamations so you know the tone early.
• In Spain people often eat dinner at 9–10pm.
• 'ñ' is its own letter — año (year) is very different from ano.
• Latin American and Spanish accents differ a lot — 'c/z' is a soft 'th' in Spain.