URGENT ADVICE REQD

[tumijoejp]

I am a captain, Indian , 4000hours. My wife is in Canada , also an Indian.
I need to know about eligibility , licence conversion and visa application. Please help

[Donkey497]

Suggest that you start here.

Government of Canada - Immigration information (https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada.html)

Just don't get your hopes up. If you do manage to get residency, you are not likely to be flying in any way shape or form at the present time, except as SLF.

[+TSRA]

Google is your friend my man: https://www.tc.gc.ca/en/services/aviation/licensing-pilots-personnel/flight-crew-licenses-permits-ratings/licensing-foreign-pilots.html

That is the license conversion stuff.

Not to put too much of a point on it, but almost all operators in Canada have, are in the process of, or have plans to lay off pilots resulting from COVID-19, so your chances of obtaining gainful employment right now are nil as all those pilots will be called back into their jobs before you are offered an interview, never mind a job. The good news for you is that unless your wife holds Canadian citizenship, the process for you to get through all the visa applications and license conversions may take just enough time for things to begin to right themselves. My very dirty and not too accurate crystal ball says it's likely 18 months to two years before my airline will be thinking of hiring again, so that's a good timeline to shoot for. Not exactly urgent.

[wisperingwillows]

+TSRA went through the TC link and I understand the requirements; (thank you)

but did I understand correctly (From your post) that it takes 18 months to convert a foreign licence to a Canadian one?

also what are the typical salaries in Canada for say an A320 or B737 captain? (I do understand that nobody is recruiting right now)

cheers

[wisperingwillows]

+TSRA I just read your post in the Air Canada section but those were many years ago. Does 53,000 CAD for a A320 FO still hold good in 2020 ?

just trying to understand what the pay grade is vs other occupations ...... I Asia we are in the top 10 to 15 % (for salaried earners)

cheers

[rudestuff]

but did I understand correctly (From your post) that it takes 18 months to convert a foreign licence to a Canadian one?

also what are the typical salaries in Canada for say an A320 or B737 captain? (I do understand that nobody is recruiting right now)

The pay is generally zero of you fail the verbal reasoning test 😉

[wisperingwillows]

but we always have the brits to help out with that don’t we 😝

[+TSRA]

but did I understand correctly (From your post) that it takes 18 months to convert a foreign licence to a Canadian one?

That's not what I said. The conversion is pretty quick. If you meet all the license requirements, it can be done inside a couple of days. Up to a month if you have some hours to polish off.

The 18 months is about when I would expect you to be hired in the current climate if the economy takes off again. All airlines in Canada have laid pilots off and most charter companies are in the process of doing so too. Any of the unionized pilots (read, the airlines) must be offered their jobs back before the company can hire pilots off the street. So although you've transferred your license in a day or two, it'll be at least year and a half before you'll find a job. In fact, a recent IATA report (https://www.iata.org/en/iata-repository/publications/economic-reports/covid-19-outlook-for-air-travel-in-the-next-5-years/) seemed to suggest that it will be mid-2021 before domestic flying is back to what it was and possibly as long as 2025 before international traffic is back up, so my 18 months could be very optimistic. It would not surprise me at all if many airlines don't hire another pilot until 2025. I hope I'm wrong, but certainly don't plan on getting hired in 2020.


+TSRA I just read your post in the Air Canada section but those were many years ago. Does 53,000 CAD for a A320 FO still hold good in 2020 ?

just trying to understand what the pay grade is vs other occupations ...... I Asia we are in the top 10 to 15 % (for salaried earners)

cheers

Roughly the same, but I'm not an AC pilot so I get the info second hand.

The mean after-tax income in 2018 was $61,400, so any pilot earning over $83,500 before tax is doing average. It would take you around 4 years to earn above that at most airlines if you were not picking up overtime or counting things like per diems, which is a touchy subject I've come to find. It's generally been my experience that pilots are poorly paid in their first 10 years in the industry and then paid very well thereafter when compared to the average, equally educated individual. With that said, Canadian pilots are still paid well below their international comparators, so if you're comparing us against an Asian carrier, it's a rude surprise for sure.

[Major Cong]

but we always have the brits to help out with that don’t we 😝


Your welcome 🇬🇧

[wisperingwillows]

TSRA Thank you for the clarification (much appreciated)

I believe the earliest I could move would be 24 months or so … which would be 2022 if at all.… Quite frankly the move would only be for my kids...

Career wise I understand I will have to pay my dues again… but just wanted know if I can support my family (and put the kids through college) with a pilots career in Canada

I currently have A320 with 9000 hrs plus With instructional hrs (TRI/LTC)… would that be sufficient to get considered for a job at a decently paying job once the industry recovers.

[doolay]

Your welcome 🇬🇧

You're welcome

fixed it for you!🇨🇦

[altiplano]

TSRA Thank you for the clarification (much appreciated)

I believe the earliest I could move would be 24 months or so … which would be 2022 if at all.… Quite frankly the move would only be for my kids...

Career wise I understand I will have to pay my dues again… but just wanted know if I can support my family (and put the kids through college) with a pilots career in Canada

I currently have A320 with 9000 hrs plus With instructional hrs (TRI/LTC)… would that be sufficient to get considered for a job at a decently paying job once the industry recovers.

That's competitive for AC. They also like it when you say you have a background in a training department, sim instruction, etc.

You don't have to pay your dues again in Canadian Aviation, ie. regional/northern operators, but there's no other way to put it though that the first couple years at AC are substandard if you don't pick up extra earnings via OT/draft.

That said, substandard is at least par or better than the mean Canadian income level, so it's more than survivable depending on your expectations and commitments.. and long run it's pretty good.

I believe there was a high level of desire within the pilot group to see the first 4 year FO "fixed rate" pay resolved and get back to formula rates after 2 years like it was before, the contract opener is imminent, but the timing for getting things from the company couldn't be worse. It's certainly doable, but the AC Pilot group will no doubt be understanding when we achieve nothing and make concessions instead.

But I digress, formula pay at AC isn't as good as most legacy airlines, but it's the best in Canada, and it's a good living.

​​​​​​Another consideration for you with your 320 training background, if timing isn't working with your move and recalls/hiring spooled up again, could be a contract instructor position. AC often hires contract sim instructors. I'm not sure the pay, but it would probably get you into an early course when things do start up again.

Good luck.