Canadian Pilot Who Wants to Work in Europe

[JackRoy__]

I am a Canadian Citizen with no direct family living in Europe but I do speak fluent German, English, and mediocre French. I have my commercial pilots license with instrument rating and I am currently working on my multi-engine rating. I know that my license is probably valid in most countries in Europe but I'm concerned about getting a visa considering you need a job offer in order to apply in the first place. Is it possible to get a job offer for Lufthansa/Lufthansa Cityline, Air France, (Although my French is not amazing) British Airways, or any other European airline? I suppose I could, of course, fly to Europe to do an interview but that would be quite costly I'm sure.

[dirk85]

The right to live and work in EU is a requirement in order to even apply for a job in Europe, and for sure we are not lacking qualified applicants here, so I am afraid you have zero chance.

[Officer Kite]

It is not that simple I'm afraid. French students themselves struggle to get into Air France (they haven't hired openly in a while, lots of internal movement from HOP, transavia etc).

Before even talking about language difficulties with Air France though or indeed any other airline, the reality is you will not be hired anywhere by a European airline whilst you don't have the right to live/work here, and as I'm sure you're aware ... there is absolutely no shortage of CPL/IR qualified pilots here whatsoever unfortunately. It really will not happen.

You will have to look at home or maybe try Asia etc

[wiggy]

Agree with above. We have a few Canadians where I work in the UK but they all have direct family ties etc to the UK..(e.g. by marriage) . There is no chance the likes of BA will sponsor a visa when there's plenty of home grown/ EU licence holders looking for a job ( their recruitment has slowed down anyway)...and I can also confirm the previous comments about Air France recruitment.

[Denti]

If you have the canadian license it won't be of any use in europe at all, you need to get an EASA one which is very heavy on theoretical knowledge. And as others said, you need the right to work and reside in the EU to work there, same as europeans do in canada. That said we have some canadians working here, but they fulfill those basic requirements.

Anyway, Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cityline do not hire, haven't hired for some time and due to a very bitter ongoing labour dispute they won't hire for the forseeable future. There is strong hiring in the Lufthansa group though, just for eurowings europe (austrian based contract) at very bad T&Cs.

[acheo]

JackRoy,

Canada is the only country dumb enough to accept anyone from anywhere in the world. Not only Canadian citizenship is not required but SunWing, to name a few, has managed to hire European pilots without canadian licenses. Yep, they are operating canadian registered aircrafts in Canadian/US airspace without without a Canadian ATPL....lesson learn, we should not hire anyone if there is no reciprocity abroad.

[PA28161]

I can understand your resentment, but that's just the way it is. Would you not be better off trying to get into a Canadian/US airline?.

There's a company called Sea Wings in Dubai who fly Cessna Caravan floatplanes and they employ a number of Canadian/US pilots. It's not airline flying but still in the passenger sector!!

[momo95]

JackRoy,

Canada is the only country dumb enough to accept anyone from anywhere in the world. Not only Canadian citizenship is not required but SunWing, to name a few.

I just had a look at westjet and air canada, both require canadian permident resident cards or a Canadian passport, you give the impression anyone from anywhere in the world can stroll up and fly for a Canadian carrier ... that doesn't seem to be correct though.

[seabird007]

JackRoy,

Canada is the only country dumb enough to accept anyone from anywhere in the world. Not only Canadian citizenship is not required but SunWing, to name a few, has managed to hire European pilots without canadian licenses. Yep, they are operating canadian registered aircrafts in Canadian/US airspace without without a Canadian ATPL....lesson learn, we should not hire anyone if there is no reciprocity abroad.


​​​​​​Old threat, but I would like to agree anyways.
I'm a German citizen with current tcca cpl and iatra. I could continue studying from ppl level in canada hence my EASA ppl was converted into a canadian 1 to 1 without any issues or theoretical knowledge or profiency test. Same story with my drivers license by the way. And it's the absolut disaster the other way : Europe ( Germany is what I can speak for ) doesn't accept or recognizes any of third party licenses. Said story but truthful. I hear jackroy!

[Xanman]

Hello everyone,

I have a Canadian ATPL with 1700hrs TT. I’m considering a move to Europe( I’m a non EU Citizen). Presently a regional FO on the Q400 in Canada. I'm wondering what the prospects are like for someone with my experience in the EU and how the over all job market is.

I read through some the older threads regarding conversion to EASA ATPL and I guess the Irish IAA is a better bet regarding conversion

Still in the early stages of research and planning on how to approach the move, I’d very much appreciate any Insights from people who’ve crossed the pond.

Thank you

[P40Warhawk]

Hello everyone,

I have a Canadian ATPL with 1700hrs TT. I’m considering a move to Europe( I’m a non EU Citizen). Presently a regional FO on the Q400 in Canada. I'm wondering what the prospects are like for someone with my experience in the EU and how the over all job market is.

I read through some the older threads regarding conversion to EASA ATPL and I guess the Irish IAA is a better bet regarding conversion

Still in the early stages of research and planning on how to approach the move, I’d very much appreciate any Insights from people who’ve crossed the pond.

Thank you

Hi Ya,

Do you have any ties with Europe? Possibility to obtain the right to live and work in EU?

Otherwise, a tough nut to crack to set foot into the European Market.
We do not have a lot of Q400 Operators here in EU. And the tendency is that it will become less and less Regional TP.

There are ATR Operators, but I know the TandC's are bad in Canada, but anything else than the Majors in EU, it is not much better here either. Especially NOT in the Bizz or Short Haul Ops on TP.

Is there no way Canadians get some short cuts to obtain the right to live and work in the US? US market is kinda struggling to get enough qualified pilots. Plenty of Q400 operators there, and then move on to the bigger stuff in the Majors or the Cargo OPS.

Besides, obtaining your ATPL Theory in EASA Land,, that is loads of crap. Learning lots of sh...1..t. you will never use again in your career.

I wish you all the best ;)

[MooneyPit]

As of today, the only way a Canadian citizen pilot can work in the USA (domestically) would be if you become a Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) and then a U.S. Citizen. Come to the U.S. and visit (for up to six months). Find a Yankee girl and get married. We have plenty here. Do not leave the USA for any reason but file an I-485 to apply for Adjustment of Status. Also file an I-765 Employment Authorization at the same time. Once approved, you'll have authorization to work in the USA. All of the filing information and fee schedule is free at uscis.gov You do not need an attorney. Such an easy job and they charge 10's of thousands to print out the same forms you can from the uscis web site.


I don't foresee any changes to the U.S. Visa program in the near future to allow for Pilots. Not sure how the unions would accept that. The TN nurses already saturate the medical centers near major border cities in the USA and screw US Citizen nurses from getting a job or at least the high-paying ones. The alien nurses build up seniority and bump actual U.S. Citizen nurses! The entire system is broken. Also, so many "fake" H1B's are regularly issued to aliens who are subsequently admitted under false pretenses. Lets just say I worked in the sovereignty business for a long time and it seems that the entire system is screwed up.


In my past, I used to encounter Canuck airplane drivers frequently who worked aerial surveys, legally, in the USA. That is a story for another time.