Any chance an American could land a job in Scandinavia?

[NEDude]

Okay here is the story. I am an American, live in the states, just landed a job with Virgin America and love it.

However...my girlfriend is a Dane, lives in Copenhagen, and works for SAS. The relationship is looking more and more serious and it is clear she wants to stay in Denmark. I am fine with that, I love it there and would be happy living there. While I know it is possible to live in Europe and work in the USA as pilot - I have a few friends who do it - things would be much easier to get a job over there. Marriage would mean a temporary residency permit and right to work, I guess it takes seven year for permanent residency.

Sooo, IF someone were hiring over there, is the any chance whatsoever that an American, with right to work and a JAA license, could get a job over there? Or should I plan on the transatlantic commute or even possibly leaving aviation?

Much thanks.

[dieselsix]

Why work for a Scandinavian airline? Atlas Air is hiring and has several pilots living in Europe. If you are smart you can have the best of both worlds especially when it comes to taxes.

[Trolle]

I made the move from the Bay Area a long time ago, although I left the cockpit at the same time.

You need the right to work in DK, which you can get once you are married (be aware, there are stories about not getting the right to live in DK even though married); you need to convert your FAA licenses, and the hassle depends on your time and experience. I just sat all the theory exams and they were a pain. The challenge may be the language. Most carriers often require a command of the language, e.g. a Scandinavian language, German for Air Berlin, etc.

The biggest problem is that there are almost no jobs at all.

First step for you may be to keep your job at VUSA (what's the abbreviation for Virgin America? VA is Virgin Atlantic...and I'm not talking the ICAO/IATA code) while doing the JAA exams. These can be done in the US I think, left and right coast.