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Foreign Licences - which ones do you have?

Please can I suggest a new subject?

Foreign licences – so which ones have you got, what was involved and what help was your UK / EASA licence? What were the restrictions (if any).

I have a few – but will let everyone chip in first.

It coould be a useful resource for those holidaying in various parts of the world.

.. .. .. or if it was outside Europe, but you flew on your EASA licence without any conversion or additional paperwork how did that work – I am thinking various parts of Africa for example.

I have just got an Irish licence because of Brexit, I also have an FAA. CPL/IR and probably the most unusual is the FAA Flight Engineer ( turboprop).

Irish + FAA

Tököl LHTL

PS – I was hoping pilots would not so much comment on foreign licences they had but tell us a little about what was involved in gaining the licence – the process, whether an EASA conversion was possible, etc.

For example, in Australia there is a “holiday” licence available which is by way of direct conversion from an EASA licence. It is a relatively tortious process in terms of submitting the paperwork to both CASA (the Australian equivalent of our CAA) and the CAA and includes the obtaining of an airport entry pass and a test flight with an instructor. There are no paper exams. Recently a permanent licence can be obtained which requires, in addition, and Australian medical, you cannout use your EASA medical.

I should do a complete write up, but this gives the flavour. Please add yours.

Canadian, FAA, UK national and UK EASA – my Canadian would need some resurrection but my PPL was at Vancouver International (a lot quieter 45 years ago), although you went to Pitt Meadows for early lessons and first solo, and then return to YVR for the nav exercises.

Still have a soft spot for the Fleet Canuck :)

My FAA is standalone not a piggyback – so no experience of converting a licence.

Last Edited by RobertL18C at 21 Apr 08:13
Oxford (EGTK), United Kingdom

@2greens1red should be able to post some interesting stuff

I have a standalone FAA CPL/IR. It became obvious shortly after I got the PPL (and the IMCR) that an IR would be necessary, but at that time the only theory option was all 14 JAA ATPL exams (it was reduced to 7 of them a year or two later) plus 50hrs at an FTO. So I went down the FAA route. The 1 exam and a few hrs of extra training at a long-gone outfit at Norwich; that was an “experience” most of which I can never write up due to risk of litigation I went back there for the IR exam in 2005. FAA IR in Arizona in 2006; a well organised efficient process which took 2 weeks, of the hardest flying I have ever done in my life. I did the CPL theory on the last day there for $90. Then FAA CPL back in the UK a year later, with a visiting DPE, just after visiting DPEs were blocked by “someone” reporting them to the Home Office for not having work visas…

Why the CPL? Historically, aviation authorities offered much better concessions to “commercial” holders, for validations and conversions, but EASA ignored all that. It did have some peripheral and obscure but useful benefits a few years later when I was doing the JAA IR in 2011.

I am glad to have the FAA papers. I revalidated my UK stuff last August but the CAA “lost it” until I wrote to their chief exec a few weeks ago. They are apologetic “on behalf of the team” and are refunding me the entire application fee! But they still haven’t processed it; the correspondence suggests the staff is “unfamiliar” with the licensing process. Now, if I was a normal G-reg pilot with a PPL/IR, it would have been no IFR since Aug 2018!!!

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

So I started with an Australian PPL/ME/IR many years ago for which the IR had lapsed. After coming to Europe I obtained an FAA 61.75 based on that, sat the FAA IR theory and then took a checkride to get US test passed on the 61.75.

I later did a CPL theory and written and obtained a standalone CPL. You don’t need to first get a standalone PPL.

I then annoyingly needed to get ME on the standalone CPL even though it was on the 61.75 in order to,do a ME type rating course at Flightsafety. The only way was to do an accelerated ME course over 2 days in Maine. The examiner said he had never before done a checkride on someone was was legal to get in and fly the type BEFORE the checkride.

More recently did the ATP after completing the CTP course and the written which I think was the hardest written I have done.

On medicals, it is less hassle than you think. Most AMEs can do FAA, EASA and CASA and one visit can potentially get you all three. Only gotcha as I discovered when try to get a medical to go flying in Australia is that you don’t walk out with a CASA medical. They approve it and send it a week or so later.

These days if wanting fly in the US and you are based in Europe I think a Euro PPL on which you then obtain a 61.75 is the way to go.

Last Edited by JasonC at 21 Apr 09:00
EGTK Oxford

The Canadian requirements for various situations is well described here.
For holidayers, see the section “Foreign licence validation certificate (for recreational pilots)”.

As an additional “tip”, for Canada or FAA licence/certificate holders:
Canada and the US have an agreement for obtaining a full licence in one country when one already has a full one in the other. Note that this does not apply to licences/certificates issued “on the basis of”.
The procedure is described here.

I converted my Canadian PPL to my full FAA PPL certificate using this procedure. Essentially, it required submitting the Canada info (licence/medical) to the FAA along with the name of the FSDO where I wanted to pick up the FAA licence. The FAA wrote to Transport Canada for validation/confirmation and notified me when it was received (about 3 months later). I then had 90 days to present myself to the previously specified FSDO with a copy of their letter, my Canadian licence/medical, my FAA medical certificate, and proof of passing a short (60 question) written. I did the written test (online) at a flight school in the morning, exited the test room to the reception, paid my $100 and received the certificate proof. After lunch I then drove the 30 minutes to the nearby FSDO where they issued me my new (temporary) FAA certificate on the spot and free of charge, valid for 90 days or until the plastic arrived in the mail. All done in a day!
I suspect that an FAA certificate holder could get a Canadian licence with somewhat similar effort. Just needs a bit of preparation, lead time, and coordination.

Last Edited by chflyer at 21 Apr 23:11
LSZK, Switzerland

JasonC wrote:

These days if wanting fly in the US and you are based in Europe I think a Euro PPL on which you then obtain a 61.75 is the way to go.

Agree for the stated situation. However anyone wanting to fly N-reg around Europe would be well-served to get a full FAA licence rather than a 61.75 since the full licence is not dependent on a valid EASA licence.

LSZK, Switzerland

I have an EASA PPL with SEP, MEP, IR and seaplane ratings. My 61.75 based FAA license is for SEL/MEL/IR and was obtained by doing the theory exam (at that time still possible) at FlightSafety in Farnborough with a visit to the FAA (Adam House) at East Midlands Airport. I believe it is now not possible anymore to do the FAA Instrument Rating theory exam in Europe and that you have to go to the US to do it there. My South African license is based on my EASA license which I need to fly the South African registered aircraft through Southern Africa. which I do several times a year by now.

I am contemplating on getting a stand-alone FAA CPL basically to stay in the training loop and do something else again. I have a lazy left eye which would make it harder for me to get an EASA class 1 medical which is needed for a CPL. I have seen an eye specialist and could train my eye seemingly, but have not continued with it.

I never use my FAA privileges but next weekend my yearly profcheck time is due and I will be doing it in Marseilles/Cannes so that I can combine the EASA profcheck with the FAA flight review in one flight. I also need to go to Saint Tropez La Mole at least every 2 years, so will do that as well to keep that current, which is just another 15-minute flight the next day from Cannes Mandelieu.

Good to read that I can go from the 61.75 based FAA license straight to a stand-alone FAA CPL: one theory exam and then the FAA CPL exam? I would assume that the theory exam would have to be taken in the US?

Last Edited by AeroPlus at 22 Apr 07:32
EDLE, Netherlands
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