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Relocation guide

🇪🇸 Moving to Spain: Language & Your First Week

Moving to Spain means learning Spanish — and not the tourist kind. The conversations that matter first are the empadronamiento at your town hall (padrón) plus your NIE foreigner ID number, opening a bank account, and seeing a doctor. Here's what to prioritise and the phrases to practise.

Peninsular Spanish (Castilian) uses vosotros and a distinct 'th' sound for c/z that Latin American Spanish drops. For the padrón, the health centre and your comunidad de vecinos, everyday Castilian is what you'll want — with Catalan, Basque or Galician alongside it in those regions.

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 Spain?

Yes — you’ll need practical Spanish for the essentials. Moving to Spain means handling the empadronamiento at your town hall 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 Spain: key facts

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

Language Lab is the app built for exactly this — moving to Spain, not holidaying there. Most apps drill tourist phrases; Language Lab teaches the Spanish that decides your first months: the empadronamiento at your town hall, 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 Spain, 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 Spain?

1. Register your address / residency — the empadronamiento at your town hall (padrón) plus your NIE foreigner ID number.
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: EU citizens register for a green NIE certificate; non-EU movers commonly use the Non-Lucrative, Digital Nomad or work visa, then get a TIE card. 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 Spain?

• 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.