There is no single conversion process. What you have to do depends on three things: which authority you are converting to, whether you want a private or a professional licence, and whether the two countries have an agreement covering pilots. That last point matters more than most people expect. Converting a private licence can be as light as two written exams and a skill test. Converting a commercial or airline licence usually means the full theory syllabus again, whatever your experience.
Updated 23 July 2026. Every requirement below is drawn from the published rules of the authority concerned and linked to its own page. Licensing rules change, national authorities apply shared rules differently, and the detail turns on your exact licence and experience, so use this to plan and confirm with the authority before you spend money. The hiring figures come from AeroScout's live database on this date, covering 1,454 live pilot listings.
What actually decides your route
Before looking up any authority, settle three questions. They determine everything that follows, and getting them straight saves people a great deal of wasted reading.
Which licence level. Private and professional conversions are different processes with different costs, not the same process at different sizes. Most of the genuinely easy routes exist only at private level.
Which authority. Not which country you like. Licences are issued by national authorities, and within the EU your application goes to a member state authority rather than to EASA.
Whether an agreement exists. Bilateral agreements are where the real shortcuts live. The United States and the EU have one covering private licences. The United States and Canada have a broader one covering private, commercial and airline licences. If your two countries have one, use it, because nothing else will be as cheap.
Pilot licence conversion checker
Use this to find out what you actually have to do to convert your licence.
Pick where your licence is from, what level you hold, and where you want to fly. You get back the exams, the skill test, the medical and the conditions that catch people out.
Converting a private licence
This is the level where conversion is genuinely straightforward, and where most of the advice online is unnecessarily gloomy.
| Converting to | Written exams | Skill test | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| FAA private certificate | None | No | Issued on the basis of the foreign licence under 14 CFR 61.75 |
| EASA Part-FCL PPL | Air Law and Human Performance | Yes | 100 hours required. Separate BASA route for FAA holders |
| UK Part-FCL PPL | Air Law and Human Performance | Yes | Applies to more than 100 hours. A separate route covers less than 100 |
| Canadian PPL | PSTAR, 90% pass mark | No, if conditions met | Issued on the basis of the foreign licence under CAR 421.26(8) |
FAA: the 61.75 certificate
14 CFR 61.75 lets the FAA issue a US private pilot certificate on the basis of a foreign licence issued at private pilot level or higher by a state that signed the Chicago Convention. There is no FAA knowledge test and no practical test for the basic certificate, which makes it one of the lightest routes described here.
The medical is more generous than people assume. The regulation accepts a medical certificate issued under Part 67 or a medical licence issued by the country that issued your foreign pilot licence, so in many cases you do not need an FAA medical to hold the certificate.
The limits are real, though. Privileges are private only, and the regulation is explicit that ratings from the foreign licence go onto the US certificate for private pilot privileges only. The certificate names your foreign licence number and country of issue, and you may only exercise its privileges while that foreign licence is in your possession or readily accessible in the aircraft. If the original lapses, the US certificate stops working with it. You must not already hold another US pilot certificate other than a student certificate, your foreign licence must not carry a limitation saying it does not meet ICAO standards, and you must read, speak, write and understand English. Instrument privileges can be added if your foreign licence carries them and you pass the appropriate FAA knowledge test within 24 months.
EASA: the Article 9 route, and the BASA route for eligible FAA holders
A third country ICAO private licence converts to a Part-FCL PPL under Article 9 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/723. You need written examinations in Air Law and Human Performance only, not the full PPL syllabus, plus a PPL skill test, at least 100 hours of flight time as a pilot, a Class 2 medical and language proficiency.
If your licence is American there is a better route. The EU and the United States signed a pilot licensing annex to their Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement in November 2020, with technical procedures that took effect in 2021. It provides for reciprocal acceptance of private licences and covers the night rating and the instrument rating alongside the PPL itself. It does not cover commercial or airline licences, which follow the standard route.
Two limits decide whether it is open to you. The first is territorial. The agreement is between the United States and the European Union, so it runs through participating EU member states only. It does not apply in Iceland, Norway, Switzerland or Liechtenstein, even though all four sit inside the wider EASA system and issue Part-FCL licences, because they are members of EFTA rather than the EU and are not parties to the agreement. If you apply through an authority in one of those four, the BASA route is not available and the standard third country conversion rules apply. An eligible FAA holder may instead be able to use the BASA route through an EU member state authority. The second limit is eligibility, which attaches conditions including when your FAA certificate was issued. The Swedish authority publishes a clear worked summary of the BASA route showing how one member state applies those conditions. Confirm the detail with the authority you intend to apply through.
UK: the same two exams
The UK route closely resembles the EU one, which is unsurprising given the shared origin, and it turns on a flight time threshold. If you hold a third country ICAO PPL with more than 100 hours of flight time, you sit the UK PPL theoretical knowledge examinations in Air Law and Human Performance, pass a PPL skill test with a UK CAA certified examiner, and hold at least a valid Class 2 UK medical certificate.
Under 100 hours the concession disappears. The CAA's second route, for an ICAO PPL with less than 100 hours, asks for all of the PPL theoretical knowledge examinations, plus discretionary ground and flight training to meet the standard licence requirements, before the same skill test. The CAA words the two routes as more than 100 hours and less than 100 hours, so if you are sitting on exactly 100, confirm which route applies before booking anything.
One detail catches people out. Only the class or type rating you take the skill test on is endorsed on the new UK licence, even if your ICAO licence carries several valid ratings. Moving the others across requires a separate transfer of type application for each.
Canada: PSTAR instead of the full written
Canada issues a private pilot licence on the basis of a foreign licence from an ICAO contracting state under CAR 421.26(8). Qualifying applicants receive credit against the normal ground school, written examination and flight test. What you do sit is the PSTAR, the aviation regulations examination for foreign and military applicants, which carries a 90 percent pass mark. Transport Canada publishes a dedicated study guide, TP 11919, for exactly this group. The licence is initially annotated to show it was issued on the basis of the foreign licence.
Three conditions decide whether you qualify, and the first catches people out. The foreign licence you rely on for this route must not itself have been issued on the basis of a licence from another state. You must meet the Canadian private licence flight time requirements. And you must have completed at least five takeoffs and five landings in aeroplanes, as pilot in command or copilot, within the six months before you apply.
Converting a commercial or airline licence
Here the picture changes. Outside a bilateral agreement, none of the four authorities below will convert a professional licence on paper, and the credits available reduce the work rather than remove it.
| Converting to | Theory | Skill test | Shortcut |
|---|---|---|---|
| FAA commercial | Full FAA knowledge test | Yes | None |
| FAA ATP | ATP knowledge test, plus ATP CTP | Yes | Foreign licence satisfies the prerequisite |
| EASA CPL or ATPL | Full examinations, credits on instruction | Yes | None |
| UK CPL or ATPL | Full UK examinations | Yes | ICAO ATPL route waives the flight training course |
| Canadian CPL or ATPL | Canadian written examination | Yes | FAA holders convert under the bilateral agreement |
FAA commercial and ATP
There is no conversion to a US commercial certificate. Under 14 CFR 61.123 you must be 18, prove English proficiency, receive and log the required ground and flight training with instructor endorsements, meet the aeronautical experience requirements, pass the FAA knowledge test and pass the practical test. A 61.75 certificate is still worth having, because it satisfies the requirement to hold a private pilot certificate and so opens the door to the commercial process.
The ATP is where a foreign professional licence earns its best credit. 14 CFR 61.153(d) asks an applicant to meet one of three conditions, and the third accepts either a foreign airline transport pilot licence with instrument privileges, or a foreign commercial pilot licence with an instrument rating, provided it was issued by a contracting State to the Convention on International Civil Aviation and contains no geographical limitations. Check that last clause against your own document, because a licence restricted to a particular region does not qualify.
That satisfies one paragraph, not the section. You still need to meet the age requirement, pass the ATP knowledge test and pass the practical test, and for a multiengine airplane rating you need a graduation certificate from an authorised ATP certification training program before taking the knowledge test.
EASA commercial and airline
Conversion is carried out by a national competent authority rather than by EASA, and which authority may process your application depends on the route you are using, so confirm that before you start. Credits are set out in Regulation (EU) 2020/723 and granted on the recommendation of an approved training organisation, which is why two pilots with similar logbooks are quoted different courses.
The Italian authority publishes a useful illustration of how the credits differ by level. For a CPL, theoretical knowledge instruction can be reduced to a minimum of 100 hours and flying training credited up to 50 percent. For an ATPL, the theoretical knowledge instruction can be credited in full, but the examinations themselves still have to be passed. Experience buys relief from classroom attendance rather than from exams: the Irish Aviation Authority exempts pilots with more than 1,500 hours and the relevant qualifying experience from mandatory ground school attendance, but they still sit the papers.
Plan the sequence around the validity of your exam passes, which is not one number. A pass for the grant of a CPL is accepted for 36 months. ATPL theoretical knowledge runs on a different clock, valid for the issue of the licence for seven years from the last validity date of an instrument rating entered in the licence. Sitting exams early and letting them lapse is an expensive and common mistake.
UK commercial and airline
Across the professional routes you need a valid UK Part-MED Class 1 medical certificate before the licence is issued, English language proficiency at level 4 or above, and a valid UK flight radiotelephony operator licence before attempting the skill tests. The CAA verifies the authenticity of your third country licence before issuing anything.
The ICAO ATPL route is the one worth knowing. If you hold an ICAO ATPL with a valid type rating on the aircraft you will be tested in, and you meet the UK experience requirements, you sit the theoretical knowledge examinations and an ATPL skill test on type with a UK examiner, with no flight training course required. Experience can also earn credit on the radio side: pilots with more than 1,500 hours on international commercial air transport flights may be credited for the practical radiotelephony test and its examination, subject to the CAA's conditions and where the existing licence already shows a valid radiotelephony endorsement and English language proficiency.
Canadian commercial and airline
If you hold an FAA certificate this is the lightest professional route covered here. Transport Canada states that an FAA certificate holder may convert under the Implementation Procedures for Licensing agreement, and calls it usually the simplest way to get a Canadian licence.
From any other ICAO contracting state, expect the standard route: a medical examination with a Canadian civil aviation medical examiner, the Canadian written examination for the licence you want, which for a commercial aeroplane licence is the CPAER exam, a flight test, and documented experience. Transport Canada may credit existing training and experience, but the examination and flight test stand. The detail sits in CARs Standard 421.
Verification, a step to start early
Authorities generally need to confirm that your existing licence is genuine and valid, often directly with the authority that issued it. Where that applies, the exchange runs on someone else's response times rather than yours, and it gates the issue of your new licence, so start it as soon as you decide. You can still train, study and arrange a medical while you wait.
For the FAA you submit AC Form 8060-71 to the Airmen Certification Branch, and the FAA states the process takes roughly 45 to 90 days. It specifically advises against arranging travel or a checkride until the verification letter has been issued. The FAA's page on verifying a foreign licence carries the current form. The UK equivalent is online form SRG2142, and the CAA recommends obtaining verification before applying, since submitting them together simply delays the licence.
Convert or validate
Conversion is not always the right answer. Validation gives you temporary permission to exercise the privileges of your existing licence in the new state, usually tied to one employer or one task, and it is faster and cheaper than a full conversion.
The catch is the clock. Under the EU rules a validation runs for a maximum of one year, and the authority that issued it may extend it only once, by a maximum of one further year, and only if you have applied for a Part-FCL licence or are already training toward one. Validation is a bridge to a conversion rather than a substitute for one.
Use validation when you have a specific job offer and need to start flying quickly. Convert when you intend to stay.
Which licence is worth converting to
Choosing an authority is really a bet about where you will be allowed to work. AeroScout tracks live pilot listings across airline and operator career pages, and the distribution by country makes the trade off unusually clear.
| Country | Live pilot listings | Listings advertising visa sponsorship | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 571 | 1 | 0.2% |
| Canada | 103 | 0 | 0% |
| United Kingdom | 61 | 1 | 1.6% |
| Germany | 53 | 0 | 0% |
| Australia | 36 | 2 | 5.6% |
| United Arab Emirates | 29 | 10 | 34.5% |
The United States has by far the most open pilot jobs on our board and almost none of them will sponsor a visa. One listing out of 571. The UAE has 29 listings and ten of them advertise sponsorship, the highest rate of any country we track. Across the whole board only 41 listings of 1,454, fewer than one in 35, mention sponsorship at all.
Read those two columns together before paying for an exam course. An FAA certificate opens the largest pool of jobs in AeroScout's dataset and does nothing about your right to work in the United States. A Gulf carrier is far more likely to handle immigration for you, from a much smaller pool.
The other signal worth checking is how employers describe the licence they want. Of the 1,454 live listings, 683 name a specific authority somewhere in the posting. The FAA appears in 448, EASA in 259, and a national CAA in 41. Postings can name more than one, and 50 mention both the FAA and EASA. Most useful if you are weighing the cost of a conversion: 201 listings reference ICAO without naming the FAA, EASA or Part-FCL at all, which is the signature of an operator that will consider any ICAO compliant licence. Check that group before assuming you need to convert at all.
A licence is not a work permit
Converting to the FAA system does not give you the right to be employed in the United States, and a Part-FCL licence does not give you the right to work in the European Union. These are separate legal systems run by different government departments, and the aviation authority has no role in the second one. The table above shows the gap in one line: 571 American jobs and one sponsorship offer between them.
The sequence that works is to settle your right to work in a country first, then convert to the licence its operators require. Doing it the other way round is how pilots end up holding an expensive certificate they cannot use.
Where conversion advice usually comes from
Most of what pilots read about conversion comes from three places, and each has a predictable failure mode. Forum threads on PPRuNe and similar boards carry real first hand experience, which is their value, but a thread describing a conversion done in 2019 predates both Brexit splitting the UK and EASA systems and the 2020 bilateral agreement between the United States and the EU. Flight schools and conversion agencies publish accurate summaries of the routes they sell, which means the route they do not sell tends to go unmentioned. National authority pages are the binding source and are usually current, but each describes only its own rules, so comparing two systems means reading two sites that use different vocabulary for the same thing.
That gap is what this guide tries to close, and it is why every requirement above links back to the authority that publishes it. If anything here disagrees with the authority, the authority is right and we want to know: aero@aeroscout.net.
How to decide
Start with immigration. Citizenship, a spouse, an ancestry route or an existing residence permit should decide the destination before any aviation consideration does, because it is the constraint you cannot study your way past.
Then check for an agreement between your country and that one, because it may cut the work dramatically, particularly at private level.
If you are genuinely mobile, weigh the size of the job pool against the sponsorship rate, and check whether the operators you actually want to fly for accept an ICAO licence. If they do, a conversion may buy you nothing at all.
Whichever way you go, start the verification of authenticity early, and confirm the current requirements with the authority itself. Licensing rules carry conditions and exceptions that turn on the detail of your own licence and experience.
You can filter the live board by country and rank on AeroScout's pilot jobs page, and our pilot and cabin crew hiring report breaks down the same dataset by sector, rank and fleet.
About this guide
Published by AeroScout, the aviation job platform tracking pilot and cabin crew hiring across more than a thousand airline and operator career pages. Every regulatory statement above links to the authority that publishes it, and the hiring figures come from AeroScout's own verified listings database as at 23 July 2026. Country figures count live listings rather than vacancies, and a listing is attributed to a country only where the posting states a location, so the 203 listings naming no country are excluded from the table. We review this guide quarterly. Corrections: aero@aeroscout.net.
This is a planning guide, not legal advice. Licensing rules change, authorities apply shared rules differently, and eligibility often turns on conditions specific to your licence, your ratings and when they were issued. Confirm with the authority you intend to apply to before spending money.
Frequently asked questions
How do you convert a pilot licence to another country?
You apply to the national authority of the country concerned and meet its requirements, which normally include verification that your existing licence is genuine, its medical certificate, some theoretical knowledge examinations, a skill test and proof of English. How much you must do depends on the licence level and on whether the two countries have a bilateral agreement. Private conversions are far lighter than professional ones.
Is it easier to convert a private or a commercial licence?
Private, by a wide margin. A third country ICAO private licence converts to an EASA or UK licence on two written exams, Air Law and Human Performance, plus a skill test and 100 hours. The FAA issues a private certificate under 14 CFR 61.75 with no exam or flight test at all. Commercial and airline conversions require the full examination set almost everywhere, with credits reducing the training rather than removing the tests.
Can I convert my foreign licence to an FAA licence?
At private level, yes. Under 14 CFR 61.75 the FAA issues a US private pilot certificate on the basis of a foreign licence from an ICAO contracting state, with no knowledge or practical test, accepting either a Part 67 medical or a medical licence from the country that issued your foreign licence. It is limited to private privileges and only valid while you hold the original. There is no conversion to a US commercial certificate, and an ATP requires the FAA knowledge test, practical test and ATP certification training program even where a foreign licence satisfies the prerequisite.
Can I convert an FAA PPL to an EASA licence?
Yes, through the pilot licensing annex to the EU and United States Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement, signed in November 2020 with technical procedures effective from 2021. It provides for reciprocal acceptance of private licences and covers the night rating and instrument rating as well as the PPL. It does not cover commercial or airline licences. It also runs through EU member states only, so it is not available if you apply through an authority in Iceland, Norway, Switzerland or Liechtenstein, despite those countries issuing Part-FCL licences. An eligible FAA holder may instead be able to apply through an EU member state authority. Further conditions attach, including when the FAA certificate was issued, so confirm with the authority you intend to apply through.
What exams do I need to convert a PPL to EASA or the UK?
Air Law and Human Performance only, not the full private pilot syllabus. Under Article 9 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/723 you also need a PPL skill test, at least 100 hours of flight time as a pilot, a Class 2 medical and language proficiency. The UK CAA applies the same two subjects to an ICAO PPL holder with more than 100 hours of flight time. For less than 100 hours it runs a separate route requiring all of the PPL examinations.
How long does FAA foreign licence verification take?
The FAA states that verifying the authenticity of a foreign licence and medical certification takes approximately 45 to 90 days. You submit AC Form 8060-71 to the Airmen Certification Branch, which contacts the issuing authority. The FAA advises against arranging travel or a checkride until the verification letter has been issued, although you can study, train and arrange a medical while you wait.
Should I convert or validate my licence?
Validate if you have a specific job offer and need to fly soon, convert if you intend to stay. Under the EU rules a validation lasts a maximum of one year and can be extended only once, by up to one more year, and only if you have applied for a Part-FCL licence or are training toward one. Conversion costs more and takes longer but produces a permanent licence of your own.
Does converting my licence let me work in that country?
No. A pilot licence and the right to work are separate legal questions handled by different government departments. AeroScout's live data shows the gap clearly: of 571 pilot listings in the United States, one advertises visa sponsorship. Across all 1,454 live listings, only 41 mention sponsorship. Settle your immigration status first, then convert the licence.