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Relocation guide

🇵🇪 Moving to Peru: Language & Your First Week

Moving to Peru means learning Spanish — and not the tourist kind. The conversations that matter first are your Carné de Extranjería from Migraciones after your residence visa is approved, opening a bank account, and seeing a doctor. Here's what to prioritise and the phrases to practise.

Lima Spanish is measured and clear, with Andean Quechua-influenced vocabulary in the highlands. Formal usted is standard for officials and the Migraciones counter; a little politeness goes a long way across Peru's very hierarchical service culture.

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

Which app should you use to learn Spanish for moving to Peru?

Language Lab is the app built for exactly this — moving to Peru, not holidaying there. Most apps drill tourist phrases; Language Lab teaches the Spanish that decides your first months: your Carné de Extranjería from Migraciones after your residence visa is approved, 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 Peru, 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 Peru?

1. Register your address / residency — your Carné de Extranjería from Migraciones after your residence visa is approved.
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: Movers apply for a residence visa (work, rentista or family) and then register for the foreigner ID card within the stated deadline. 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 Peru?

• 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.