South American to work in Europe or the States

[orangetree1]

Hi,

I'm new here and not sure if this is the right forum.. sorry if not!

I'm European, living in South America with my fiance who's a pilot in a wellknown South American airline. He's been a captain on the A320 for almost a year, before that he was a co-pilot on the A330.

My question is if there is any opportunity he could work in Europe or the States in the future. Once we get married, he will be eligible to work in Europe, but I don't know if there is any possibility an airline would actually employ him, if he doesn't have the nationality from that country. I also don't know if he would need to complete pilot tests or so to get the permission. He also doesn't really know. We know there is the opportunity to go to Asia or the Arab countries, but he (and me) is mainly interested in Europe and possibly the States.

Does anyone have more info and can tell me if there is any possibility for him to work in Europe or the States? Or is that really difficult?


Thank you!

[diego727]

Hi, I'm in a similar situation myself and I've done a little bit of research. To fly in the US he needs to be legally entitled to live and work there, that means having US citizenship, a green card or a work visa. Getting a work visa is highly unlikely, a company has to sponsor you and I believe they have to justify hiring a foreigner over a local, and with so many American pilots unemployed that is practically impossible.

As for Europe, most if not all companies require you to have EASA/JAA licenses, so he would need to convert his ICAO license (unless he has one already), which is a lengthy and very costly process, I looked into that and I don't think I can do it having a full time flying job.
He also needs to have the right to work and live in Europe, but with you getting married I don't think that's going to be a problem.

You can check this website out:

PILOT CAREER CENTER - Latest Pilot Jobs, Pilot Resume / Pilot CV Design, Interview Preps and more... (http://www.pilotcareercenter.com)

It gives you all the details on different companies in the US, Europe and pretty much all over the world, too see what the requirements are in regard to that.

I hope I helped and let me know how it works out for you!