Quick Summary: There is no single language level that is "enough" for everyone. Grocery shopping and taking your child to school require roughly A2; calling a clinic or dealing with banks require solid B1; office work or citizenship tests in many countries require B1–B2 with a certified credential. The most effective way to prepare before departure is to practice the exact situations you will encounter in the first 90 days, not to prepare for an exam.
We have met many families who studied English for two years, passed IELTS at 6.0, then froze at the pharmacy counter upon arrival. They are not lacking ability. They learned to pass exams; real life asks questions that are not on the test.
The counterintuitive truth is: the hardest part of language in a new country is not conversation, but making phone calls and reading letters from government agencies. In face-to-face conversation, you have gestures, facial expressions, and a willing listener who can slow down. On the phone, you have none of those.
This bulletin organizes language learning by the specific tasks you must do, so each person can decide how far they need to go — and what they don't yet need to learn.
Why "how many points is enough" is the wrong question
Test scores measure your ability to answer questions in a testing room. Life measures your ability to adapt when people speak fast, use local accents, and no one is grading you.
Two people with identical 6.0 scores can live very differently. Someone who has practiced listening to local radio, reading neighborhood newsletters, and rehearsed phone calls for appointments will have an easy first year. Someone who only practiced Writing Task 2 will have a difficult first year.
The right question is: In the first three months, which tasks must I do myself, and which can I ask someone else to handle? Once you answer that, your required language level becomes very clear.
Language proficiency by task in daily life
We use the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) because most countries use it or can convert their standards to it. A1 is complete beginner; C2 is near-native speaker.
| Task | Minimum level to do it yourself | Notes from professionals |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarket, markets, shopping | A1–A2 | Mostly reading labels, asking prices, asking where items are located |
| Taxi, bus, train | A2 | Apps handle most of it; hardest part is understanding announcements about route changes |
| Talking with your child's teacher | A2–B1 | First-of-year meetings: bring someone along or ask for a one-on-one session |
| Scheduling appointments by phone | B1 | Hardest task of the first year for most families |
| Describing symptoms to a doctor | B1 | Bring a written note with symptoms and current medications |
| Signing a lease | B1–B2 | Do not sign alone if you cannot yet read terms about deposits and termination |
| Dealing with banks, tax office | B1–B2 | Government tax letters use specialized terminology; even natives read them slowly |
| Office work | B2 and above | Varies by field; customer-facing roles demand higher proficiency |
| Running a small business | B1 + administrative support | Owner doesn't need to be the strongest, but must understand their own contracts |
Looking at this table, you'll see: most daily tasks require only A2–B1. What exhausts most newcomers is not lack of advanced vocabulary, but lack of quick reflexes in a few dozen recurring situations.
Your immigration status determines which language requirements are mandatory
Many people confuse two categories. There is the language you need to live, and there is the language you must prove to maintain or upgrade your immigration status. These are different things.
Categories with no mandatory language test
Citizenship-by-investment programs in the Caribbean such as Grenada have no language exam. Greece's Golden Visa requires no language certificate at the time of issuance or renewal. The U.S. E-2 visa has no fixed score requirement, but your interview will require you to present your business plan yourself.
No requirement does not mean you don't need it. Someone holding a Golden Visa living in Athens who speaks no Greek can survive, but every interaction with a government office requires hiring an interpreter.
Categories with language requirements at citizenship stage
Plan for these well in advance, because citizenship exams typically occur in year five or later, when many people have settled into "good enough" language habits.
- Portugal: Citizenship applicants must prove Portuguese at A2 level. It sounds low, but Portuguese pronunciation is harder than many expect.
- Canada: Applicants aged 18–54 must prove English or French at CLB 4, roughly A2–B1.
- Germany: Citizenship requires German B1 plus a civics exam.
- United Kingdom: Permanent residency and citizenship require English B1 from an approved test provider.
- Greece: Keeping the Golden Visa requires nothing; naturalization requires Greek B1 plus history and culture tests, and proof of actual residence.
Language policy changes fairly frequently. Many EU countries are currently raising requirements, as discussed in articles on Sweden's citizenship tightening and Ireland's citizenship tightening. Ask your advisor for the current requirement with a date, before you plan your study schedule.
Can English be "good enough" in non-English-speaking countries?
The honest answer: enough to survive, not enough for comfort.
In Lisbon, Athens, Dubai, or Kuala Lumpur, you can conduct most daily life in English in central areas. In UAE and Malaysia, English functions almost as a working language, and Vietnamese speakers often report feeling most at ease there.
But in Portugal or Greece, English "stops working" in three places: local government offices, public clinics, and phone queue lines. Younger staff speak good English; older staff at government counters don't always.
A practical strategy for families choosing a non-English-speaking country: keep English as your foundation, add the local language to A2 during your first year. A2 is enough to greet, read signs, ask directions, and most importantly — locals notice you're trying and switch to English with a completely different attitude.
What to study in the six months before you go
If you have only about six months left, don't learn from a textbook starting at lesson one. Learn by scenario. Here is the checklist we usually give families:
- Introduce yourself and explain your residency status in 30 seconds: where you're from, what visa category you're on, how long you'll be there. You'll say this dozens of times at the bank, school, rental office.
- Spell your name and address using the alphabet of that language. Vietnamese names have many unfamiliar letters; staff will misspell them if you don't spell out each one clearly.
- Schedule appointments by phone: request to see whom, which date, what time, how to change the appointment.
- Describe common health symptoms: fever, cough, where it hurts, how long it's been, drug allergies.
- Numbers, dates, and money: quickly hear phone numbers, account numbers, amounts. Newcomers most often make mistakes here.
- Housing vocabulary: deposit, lease, repairs, utility bills, landlord, building manager.
- School vocabulary for your child: sick leave, permission request, parent-teacher meeting, lunch, uniform.
- Three emergency phrases: "Please speak more slowly," "Can you write that down for me," "Can I call you back once I have an interpreter?"
These eight groups cover most of what you'll need to say yourself in the first three months.
What you don't need to do before you leave
Conscientious planners often overtrain. Here are things we recommend you don't focus on before departure:
- Don't practice academic writing unless you plan to study or apply for office jobs immediately. Writing polite short emails is enough.
- Don't test early if your category doesn't yet require a certificate. Language certificates typically expire after about two years; testing too soon means you may have to test again when you apply for citizenship.
- Don't study grammar to perfection before speaking. Native speakers forgive grammar mistakes easily; they are more bothered when you don't try to speak at all.
- Don't worry about accent. Hear the accent of the place where you'll actually live: English in Dublin, Sydney, or Dubai sounds very different from each other.
- Don't buy expensive course packages before you leave. In many countries, local governments or community organizations offer language classes for newcomers at low cost; ask first before paying.
Children and older adults: two groups need different plans
Children under 12 learn languages through school much faster than their parents. Your job is not to cram language before departure, but to help your child feel unafraid. We wrote detailed guidance on this in a child's first year at a new school.
One common trap: parents notice their child learns the new language quickly and stop speaking the home language at home. Years later, the child cannot talk to grandparents. Maintaining the home language does not slow down learning the new language; research on bilingual children shows that a strong foundation in the mother tongue actually helps children learn a second language better.
Older adults are the opposite: they learn very slowly and get discouraged easily. A realistic goal for parents over 60 is to learn a few dozen survival phrases, read numbers and home addresses, and know how to call emergency services. The rest depends on children and community. An article on older parents following adult children abroad discusses this in depth.
The downside: real risks of underestimating language needs
Here are the genuine damages from insufficient language, not just inconvenience:
- Signing documents you don't understand. Rental leases, business purchase contracts, power of attorney. Many people lose deposit money or accept unfavorable terms only because they trusted a translator.
- Complete dependence on one interpreter. If that person also sells you a service, there is a real conflict of interest.
- Missing letters from government agencies. Renewal reminders, requests for additional documents, tax notices — late response can mean fines or impact your residency status.
- Your spouse or partner becomes isolated. The working spouse has daily language practice at work; the homemaking spouse does not, and the language gap between partners grows. This is also why articles on employment for accompanying spouses always start with language.
- Discovering you're underprepared when citizenship testing arrives. Many people coast for five or six years on "good enough" language, then discover they must pass B1 plus a writing exam.
Questions to ask your advisor about language requirements
Before signing anything, ask these questions directly and request written answers:
- At each stage of this category — initial issuance, renewal, and citizenship — what language requirements exist? What level? Which certificates are accepted?
- Do dependents (spouse, adult children, parents) have to test? Is there an age above which the test is waived?
- What language is used in interviews (if any)? Can you bring an interpreter?
- If language policy changes while your application is processing, does the new requirement apply to you?
- Does your advisor provide interpretation support or accompaniment during early paperwork appointments, and is this included in the fee or charged separately?
To compare multiple programs across several criteria at once, use our comparison tool or program recommendation page.
Next steps
Take a piece of paper and write down ten tasks you will definitely need to do yourself during your first three months in the new country. For each task, note the language level from the table above. Any task beyond your current ability is what you need to practice before departure — or what needs support during the early phase.
If your chosen category has language requirements at the citizenship stage, add language study to your plan from year one, not year five.
