What Expats Are Saying

"My husband collapsed in Oaxaca and we rushed to the ER. The doctor spoke no English and I was in a panic. I called ExpatEmergency and they stayed on the phone translating everything — symptoms, diagnosis, medication instructions. I don't know what I would have done without them."

"A contractor renovating our house in Puerto Vallarta disappeared with a $4,000 deposit. ExpatEmergency connected me with a local attorney who specialised in exactly this, helped me file the complaint in Spanish, and kept me informed throughout. We recovered most of the deposit. Without their help I would have written it off and moved on."

"I was stopped at a checkpoint in Jalisco and the officers were asking for documents I didn't have. My Spanish is basic at best and the situation was getting tense. I called ExpatEmergency, handed my phone to the lead officer, and they resolved it in under five minutes. Never felt more grateful for a phone number in my life."

"Got pulled over in Costa Rica and the officer was explaining something about my documents but I had no idea what he needed. I called ExpatEmergency, put them on speaker, and they translated the whole conversation. Turned out he just needed my residency card alongside my licence. Sorted in minutes."

"I woke up in the hospital in San José not fully knowing how I'd gotten there. I'd had a seizure at a restaurant — my first ever. The hospital staff were excellent but everything was in Spanish and I was terrified and alone. ExpatEmergency stayed on the line, explained what the doctors were telling me, called my daughter in Florida, and didn't hang up until I had family on the way. That call meant everything."

"Our house was broken into while we were at the beach for the weekend. I was three hours away with no idea what to do first. ExpatEmergency told me exactly what to do: they called the local police in Spanish, arranged an emergency locksmith, and started the insurance claim process before we even got home. The house was secured and the report was filed by the time we arrived."

"My passport was stolen in Cartagena. ExpatEmergency walked me through every single step — the police report, the US Embassy call, the temporary documents. What could have ruined a 2-week trip was resolved in 24 hours."

"We came home from a weekend trip to find our apartment in Medellín had been broken into. Everything was turned upside down. I called ExpatEmergency at midnight and they guided me through the denuncia, got a locksmith there within the hour, and called our insurance company on our behalf. They even helped us reach the landlord in Spanish. Completely invaluable."

"I got dengue in Bogotá and was so sick I could barely speak. My Spanish fell apart completely. ExpatEmergency talked to the ER triage staff, explained my symptoms clearly, and made sure I got into the right ward fast. They also told me not to take the ibuprofen the pharmacy had recommended — which is dangerous with dengue. That detail alone may have saved me from a much worse outcome."

"I had a car accident on the highway outside Panama City — the other driver was speaking fast and aggressive and I had no idea what he was claiming. I called ExpatEmergency, handed my phone to the officer, and they handled the entire conversation. An attorney was on the line within 20 minutes. I would have signed the wrong thing without them."

"My father had a stroke while visiting us in Boquete. We needed to get him to a specialist in Panama City immediately and had no idea how to arrange an air ambulance, coordinate with Hospital Punta Pacífica, or handle the insurance. ExpatEmergency handled all three simultaneously. He was in intensive care in Panama City within four hours. The coordination they provided in those first hours was extraordinary."

"I was arrested in Guayaquil over a misunderstanding about my rental car paperwork. It was the most frightening experience of my life. ExpatEmergency reached a local attorney within 15 minutes, had someone at the police station within 90 minutes, and contacted my family in Canada within the hour. I was released the same day. I cannot imagine navigating that alone."