Converting ICAO to FAA
 

Hello,

I'm a 25 year old pilot from the Netherlands. I was wondering if it is a viable option to convert my Swedish Frozen ATPL licence to an FAA licence.
would this allow me to get a ATPL job in the United States and if so how would I best start this process?
I have no hours except those from my flight training.

Thank you in advance!

So in FAA speak you hold a commercial license and have passed your ATP exams. Congratulations, the FAA will issue you a private certificate limited to VFR. To get anything higher you would have to do the same thing a native born American would have to do, pass writtens and pass checkrides. To get an ATP level job in the US you will need 1500 hours. None of that will get you a job without a US passport or a "green card."

I keep hearing rumours about a possible EASA-FAA ATPL/ATP straight conversion coming in the future. Does anyone have anymore concrete information on this?

This already exists and has existed for many years for any ICAO ATP/ATPL so long as you have a valid license and instrument rating and meet the FAA aeronautical experience for the ATP which is in part 61. Have you bothered to read the regs yet?

When the FAA announced their agreement with Transport Canada in 2006 they said there may be more licensing BASAs in the future. Nothing has happened since then.

As havick points out, if you hold a commercial with an IR and have 1500 hours or if you hold a foreign ATP you can get a FAA ATP by completing the ATP CTP course (if you want a ME ATP), passing the written and passing a checkride. Same path an American pilot with 1500 hours and a commercial +IR would take.

Yes, but the rumour I keep hearing is that in the future they’ll be no requirement to do another skills test and the CTP course. So for EASA to FAA you’d just need to the ATP written.

Where are you hearing this? There’s been absolutely zero mention of this anywhere from the FAA

havick,

I got the impression from cSO's post that he meant a process rumored to be something akin to the TCCA-FAA thing: shuffle some paperwork, take a written and pay some money and BINGO !!! an FAA ATP.

Nothing would surprise me these days. I've asked my FAA buddy if he's heard anything but I doubt he will have.

There are always such rumors but it'd be nice if people would give the source of their info (unless it was given in confidence).

Sorry guys, i’ve just heard this rumour from multiple sources flying the line. I couldn’t find anything about it searching on google so I was putting it out there to find out if anyone had more concrete information.

Canadian pilots wanting to take the ACM written test still have to complete the ATP CTP course. That and getting a FAA medical are the only costs involved if you go through a FSDO.

You cold use your second country's COMM/IR to meet the FAA requirement to hold a COMM/IR before getting the ATP. You would then have to complete the ATP CTP, pass the ATM written test, complete a classroom and flight training program for the 320 and pass a 320 type rating checkride to get the FAA ATP with a 320 type.

Yes, you could shuffle paper to get a 61.75 private VFR ONLY with the 320 type. And then pass the FAA IR written and checkride to have "US TEST PASSED added to the 61.75 certificate. Then if you completed the ATP CTP, passed the ATM written and passed an ATP ME checkride AND IF you can show your training for your foreign 320 TR was conducted by FAA authorized instructors you could get the 320 type added to your ATP. I've never heard of anyone who could document the status of their foreign instructors.

easa - faa atp
 

Well, I have new found respect for the FAA licensing sort of , its a lot of hoops - a lot , I did my SA ATPL big deal, then the EASA big deal, FAA not so big deal? Hmmm...I required a ATP check ride on my Jet type based on a foreign license verification..Think that's straight forward. It is not. As the company was paying for most of it, I couldn't possibly afford to do it how I will outline it below. Not to mention the time involved from submitting the first TSA application to walking out with what I needed was almost 10 weeks. The FAA have really made it quite awkward to get this these days.

1a. Submit TSA (for the CAE in Dallas (in my case) a 1 week long ATPL ground school course, it, it is a one full week sun - sun classroom based.
1b. Within that week 10 hours on a jet sim mine was a 737-800 whatever they give you, enjoyed it, ''constructive play'' no test.
1c. Then pass the 120 question multiple choice exam at one of the designated testing offices - ONLY int he US. they closed Farnborough at FSI for it. I spent 6 weeks doing the online stuff you can get and doing 1500 questions I did.
1d. License Verification from your relevant CAA to FAA small fee, 2 months of waiting in my case - this what held it up a little bit.

2a . If you have not some prior experience (100hrs) on type to have the ATPL ''check ride'' it has to be in the last 18 months - mine was 20!!! I had to do another recurrent on that type (33,000USD)
2b. submit another TSA for the EASA recurrent

3. Submit TSA for FAA 61.58 prior exp course, thats an identical recurrent (1 week) in the sim doing all the pre requisites for the 5.5 hr check ride ( i was with my buddy) and then the 1-2 hour oral exam.


So all in all, anyone that says its just micky mouse I have a tendancy to disagree. Its a process, requiring patience, a bit of study and lots of money in my case.

Thats just my experience of having just done it a year ago for a UK EASA - FAA ATPL with prior experience. Thats said coming from SA ATPL doing 15 exams and 1500hrs years ago, then to goto the EASA and do 14 more exams and 25hrs flight training and a year off, Im slightly jaded by it all. However stick at it if thats what you want to do. DD

With the exception that flight time abroad will count to satisfy FAA minimums. In other words: to convert a foreign-based PPL to a "standalone" FAA PPL, he would only need to take the written and pass the checkride. Subsequently he can use his foreign IFR time to pass the IFR / CPL written and take those checkrides as well.

Or a visa, which depending on the circumstances can be easy to get. Realistically, there are only two visa which are applicable in this case: H1-B or L-1. The L-1 requires a pilot to be an employee of the company already, few people will meet that requirement. H-1Bs are limited, and filing season is over. The first available H1-B will have a start date of October 2020.

That said, the wait time for a green card is actually really low, depending on country of origin. It can therefore be quicker to just apply for a green card: that whole process can be done in less than a year.

Can it be done: yes. Will any US airline with a year while a prospect hire gets his visa and licenses in order? Probably not. But then again, who would have thought 20 years ago that pilots would pay to fly?