jaa unfrozen atpl conversion to canadian atpl

[GermanpilotsWife]

Hi guys,

Just wanted to ask if anyone knows what is involved if my husband wants to apply for the canadian atpl? He's got roughly 7000 hours most of which are on 737 and 747 and I am a Canadian citizen.

Any info much appreciated!
GPW

[d-to]

Obtaining a Canadian atpl with your husbands eu-atpl and experience is quite easy just a few (not to difficult written exams) and an ifr flight check as well as a general flight check. Obtaining a Canadian atpl is the easy part, and not too expensive. Finding a well paid (secure) flying position in Canada is almost utopia . Living in Canada and working abroad might financially be more attractive.
Quite a few European pilots are married to Canadian wife's.

[mATT84DC]

hello,
I m interested in this thread because I m in a similar situation..well, I don t have 7K hours and never flew a 747, but I m next to get my JAR ATPL "unfrozen" and once I get it, I wanna convert it into Canadian.
Can you please give more details about the procedure, requirements and cost? also contacts of flight schools are welcome..

PS: I know it s impossible for me to land a job in Canada because I m not national and I ve not found yet a wife there :} , but I d like to try my chance with the Canadian operators flying oversea , especially in Africa (where I m working now), any comments or advice about it?
thanks

[surveytheworld]

Matt84 - Canadian operators overseas are still Canadian. They fly Canadian registered aircraft on a Canadian operating certificate and their employees pay Canadian taxes, and therefore, they must have the right to work in Canada.

Examples - Voyageur in Africa/Afghanistan, Execaire in Las Palmas/Mauritania, Summit in Africa (not sure if this is still going on), Trans Capital in Africa/Afghanistan, various Canadian airborne survey companies working overseas... ALL employ pilots with the right to work in Canada.

I have heard that CHC occasionally hires helicopter pilots that don't have Canadian work permits, but those are generally either higher time, ex-military guys are nationals of the country in which CHC just happens to have a contract (i.e. I believe they do this in Thailand) as part of the agreement with the local government. There may be other companies like this but I haven't heard of them.

[mATT84DC]

surveytheworld,
thanks for your clear answer, it s a pity, because to fly for such a nice companies is dream of many, me included, but I understand the logic behind.
I was not sure about it , because I was making a comparison with my SA employer, that use to hire expat pilots as long as the fly on contract, because they don t need any SA VISA but the only the Visa for the conutry where we operate with UN.(and SA license, because of the SA registered A/C).
I belived that it was the same...

[ReleasePT]

May I also ask you something?

I have a JAA frozen ATPL licence. I'm also considering the possibility of trying something in Canada. I have a European citizenship and I'm also not married to a Canadian woman. ;)

I know that without a visa is not easy to look for a job as a pilot there but I have another job. I'm a registered nurse working in Switzerland (I speak English and French which I suppose is an advantage. I also speak Portuguese and Spanish). I'm not sure if it's possible but I know that it's quite easy to find a job there as a nurse. What I have in mind is that maybe I could enter there to work as a nurse and once I'm there convert my cpl license to a Canadian one and then try to find a job as a pilot. Do you have any idea if that is possible?

I’m getting out of options. I’m 32 and 250h FT. In Europe it’s almost impossible to find a job and I’m honestly thinking on making a p2f program. I didn’t want to do this but as I said I’m not seeing alternatives to this.

Thank you in advance.

[jamiepilot77]

You could try, but I think in your case it wouldn't be very easy. If your able to get a work permit in Canada it is only for the job they brought you in for. Lets say after a couple of years you can get a permanent residency and start looking for a flying job. Frozen ATPLs are not recognized in Canada. With 250 hours TT you'll have a hard time finding a flying job. You would probably be able to get a ramp job for a chance at a flying job. This would most likely take at least a minimum of a year before you would be moved up to a flying position. Also a lot of these jobs are in very remote Northern communities which can take some getting used to. Then if there is no global downturn your about 4 years away at best from an airline job. Go over to AvCanada and check out the postings about Canadiens with 250TT and the difficulty they have in finding a job. I don't want to discourage you if this is what you want to do. Canada is a great place to fly but it has it's hurdles as well.

[ReleasePT]

Thank you Jamie for your honesty. I believe the situation its bad everywhere. Specially for those with low hours and age of 30+.

About the work permit I believe you're right. I'll try to get more info though.

[jamiepilot77]

On the contrary the situation is really hot right now in Canada if you have the hours and the right experience. But as always if your a 200 hour wonder it's tough as I suppose it always will be.

[ReleasePT]

The problem my friend is that companies demand experience (hours) but nobody gives you the opportunity to achieve that experience. How can I get the 1000 or 1500hours if no one gives me that opportunity? If I have to rent a Cessna to make 800h by my own I prefer to pay for a p2f scheme.

[rigpiggy]

My roomie, came over with his girlfriend worked the ramp for 6 months, got a PPC, and is putting in 100/month. Anything is possible