Help - Aussie living in the UK

[SlingsbyT67M]

Ok, I know everyone has had these questions thrown at them multiple times but hey I figure that small changes do make everyone a little bit of an individual. I also did check and could not find anything so I decided to open a new thread. I currently reside in the UK although I am an Australian national (5 year work visa. I hold an ICAO PPL (A), which I obtained in the UK, and have approx 200 hours logged. I love aerobatics and have about 40 hours logged mainly in a T67M Firefly.

I am seriously thinking about doing my ATPL and have approached Oxford Aviation about doing a modular course (Waypoint) for 12 months. Now,I am a realist so I have the class 1 booked for 6th Sept 07. Besides being 38 years old I am worried that although I am an Australian national and can get a dependency visa through my fiancé. All the airline requirements in the UK specify, “must have unlimited right to work in the EU” If I have unlimited right to live in the UK is this enough? – Will they consider employing me? So before I spend the +40K any advice would be so much appreciated.

[Permanent Standby]

Couple of points for consideration - there are by no means the be all and end all but just food for thought:

Getting the visa will be no problem, I fly with loads of aussies.

I suggest £40 grand as an absolute minimum, dont be fooled by what Oxford tell you either! They are selling it. I would suggest £60 grand, and even then to realistically get a job now you need to buy a type rating (£20 grand ish). Time to re-mortgage your house.....

Check the airlines entry requirements - at 38 with 200 hours you need to be sh*t hot....

Dont want to dash your hopes but its better to be realistic - will cost you dearly otherwise!

On a lighter note, it is an awesome job and I wouldnt put anyone off if they really wanted it!

My very best wishes and best of luck!

PS

[redsnail]

G'day Slingsby,

If you're going "modular" then you don't "need" to go to Oxford. However, that's another discussion.

My husband currently works for easyJet on a visa (which he should be able to convert to citizenship) next month. He hasn't found it a problem working for a UK based airline flying G-reg aircraft all over Europe.

Other companies may not be so flexible but, it is possible.

Note, he was told by the immigration dept in London that it's better if he can apply for citizenship/permanent residency in his own right rather than relying on a marriage/relationship case. (In our case, the timing will coincide).

Keep a very close eye on the residency issue as it does change.

[SlingsbyT67M]

Thanks guys

Thanks permanent standby and redsnail. I must be honest I am seriously nervous about making this move. Its not one that I am taking lightly at all! The posts that I have been reading paint a very dim and scary picture of what it’s like out there The visa thing was worrying me big time! But both your replies have at least left me feeling a little better about that concern, just wish that I was 10 years younger!

[SlingsbyT67M]

one more question

Redsnail, any advice on what schools are should take a look at. Guess it’s a difficult question in that you don’t want to appear favoring one school over another.

[Pick me Flybe!]

slingsby. No one is to old for ryanair. If your prepared and can afford to work for six months on less then sainsburys shelf stacking wages.

Once you finish your line training after 6 months, or what ever the mickey mouse training contract says, i believe you go upto 18/19k.

Once you unfreeze your atpl 30/40kish 1.5 years

next drawback is the 20k you need to shell out for the TR

Doesnt matter to them who you did the training with, but you still need to be selected for the tr program.

If you want to alsmost guarantee a place on there TR scheme after you have done the cpl amd ir, just pay a bit more then the norm for their in house MCC course. And your there!

I know 9 guys who did just that, and they were all selected for the tr course after the mcc.

Anyway with 200 hours already all you need to pay for is cpl (5k) Ir(11k) Mcc(2k) Ryanair TR???????? (20k)

[SlingsbyT67M]

Wow

Thanks Pick Me Flybe!

Although a TR costs a fortune and yes I would be willing to work for peanuts to be happy in my job. Your post has filled me with hope!

[redsnail]

I converted my license from an Australian ATPL to a JAA one so I don't really know much about the "flying" side of it.

For theory, my hubby used Bristol Ground School and he said that they were excellent. It's a distance learning centre but there's no reason why you can't do it "full time" just at home.

Unfortunately, the trend in the last few years is to buy a rating to "get ahead'. It's a self fulfilling cycle as you've taken on a lot of debt so you need the higher paying job to service it. You don't need to buy a rating, the decent operators pay you to do it. However, that is another discussion.

[flyingklunzy]

Bristol Ground school is the way to go.

I came from NZ a year and a half ago and looked around places to go, and to be honest, oxford was the least appealing and one of the most expensive.

If you are in Aussie now and can do the ATPLs via distant learning there, do that, cheaper than living here, thats the one thing I would have done before coming over.

And there is no need for a type rating, its a thing that people try and do to get ahead, but there are jobs out there without paying for one. I got one and am happy flying around Europe now :-)

[SlingsbyT67M]

This info is awesome

Flyingklunzy I have so many questions, do you mind me asking how did you go about your training? If you did your distance learning with Bristol, where did you do your actual flying training? Also how long did it take you to finish? and once you were finished how long did it take you to get your first job? How old are are?
Sorry to be so upfront but your post has filled me with loads of hope!