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Licence conversion, the route home

Available

Planning your conversion early gets you home and flying sooner. Exams, medical validity, radio licence and the flight check all run on their own clocks, so we run them in parallel, not one after the other.

Your regulator decides every step; we help you plan, sequence and prepare.

  • AuthoritiesFAA, EASA, SACAA, CASA and CAAP licences.
  • SequenceExams, medical and checks run in parallel.
  • AuditLogbook and hours reconciled first.
  • Your regulatorDGCA route shown; pick your country above.

Your country

Which regulator are you converting to?

Showing the DGCA route for students from India.

What you get

Keeping your conversion on track

Aerial view of an airport runway and taxiways

  • Exams started early

    We start ground classes while you are still building hours abroad.

  • A clean, accurate logbook

    We audit every entry and total before submission.

  • Medicals kept valid

    We time medicals against your expected issue date.

  • RTR(A) exam preparation

    Structured practice for the oral exam, well ahead of the date.

  • Licence verification on time

    We start early and follow up regularly with foreign authorities.

  • A plan for after conversion

    We move straight into airline application preparation.

  • Visa on time

    We start your visa file early and track appointments, so your visa is ready in time for your intake.

Step by step

What DGCA requires from you

  1. 1
    Computer NumberYour DGCA identity for every exam and application. Getting it early keeps every later step moving.
  2. 2
    DGCA written examsAir Navigation, Meteorology, Air Regulations and the technical papers, with ground-class support.
  3. 3
    RTR(A)The radio-telephony licence: practical and oral, and a common bottleneck.
  4. 4
    Class 1 medicalAn Indian Class 1 medical from a DGCA-approved examiner, timed so validity carries into licence issue.
  5. 5
    Document verificationLicence, logbook and hour verification with the issuing authority.
  6. 6
    Conversion flight checkA skill test with an approved examiner in India, followed by DGCA licence issue.

Requirements vary with your licence, hours and issuing authority. Other regulators have their own routes, set out on each country page.

Terminal hall at Delhi airport
  • 5issuing authorities covered
  • 6DGCA steps, sequenced
  • 13country pages with regulator notes

Authorities covered

We convert licences from these authorities

Not your regulator? Choose your country at the top of this page, or open any country page for its route, official sources and check dates.

  • FAA (United States): CPL, IR and multi-engine privileges
  • EASA (Germany): modular and integrated CPL/IR holders
  • SACAA (South Africa): CPL and instructor-rated pilots
  • CASA (Australia): CPL holders with mixed-airspace experience
  • CAAP (Philippines): CPL holders
  • Logbook audit and hour reconciliation before submission
  • Ground classes for DGCA subjects, online and in person
Airport departure hall with a glass wall

Your decisions

Where do you want to go next?

Training aircraft controls in flight

  • Convert your licence

    Exams, medical, verification and flight checks, sequenced.

  • Your country

    Regulator notes with official sources and check dates.

  • Ratings and hours

    Instructor ratings and hour building at partner schools.

  • Type rating

    The right rating for the airline path you are targeting.

  • Logbook audit

    Hours reconciled before submission.

  • Airline prep

    Interview and assessment preparation.

Step by step

Get a conversion audit

  1. 1
    Send your documentsLicence, logbook summary and medical dates.
  2. 2
    We map your regulatorThe steps your home regulator requires, with official sources.
  3. 3
    Bottlenecks flaggedExams, radio licence, medical validity and verification timed in parallel.
  4. 4
    Your sequenced planNext steps after conversion included.
Yellow and blue light aircraft on a grass airfield in Germany

Recommended programmes

Programmes for licence holders

Two pilots at the controls of a turboprop cockpit at golden hour

Available

Licence conversion

DGCA and other regulators, planned from day one.

Conversion
Pilot's hand on the thrust levers of an airliner flight deck

Available

Type ratings

Choose a rating for a fleet that is hiring.

Type ratings
Airliner on final approach to a lit runway at dusk

Available

A320 type rating

Choose a programme in the right order.

A320

Milestone payments

Turn quotations into one budget

  1. 1
    Collect itemised quotationsWritten inclusions, exclusions, rates and payment terms from each school.
  2. 2
    Normalise the assumptionsThe same hour, living and completion headings for every option.
  3. 3
    Add time contingencyTime, recency and additional flying for weather, maintenance and re-tests.
  4. 4
    Add career-stage costsThe steps that follow licence issue, including conversion at home.
  5. 5
    Match funding to milestonesFamily funds or loan tranches aligned to the training schedule.

Ask which hours and aircraft each quote assumes, how rates can change, and what happens to unused funds if training pauses or transfers.

Glass-cockpit avionics reviewed in a training aircraft

Payments

Pilots Sky Lend and loan guidance

Families in India can use Pilots Sky Lend, our education-loan application support for CPL training, type ratings and ground classes. Elsewhere, your advisor explains how families usually fund training.

Finance options
Terminal hall at Delhi airport

Safety

What we check before we place a cadet

Person carrying out a pre-flight check on a light aircraft

  • Regulator

    Each partner school operates under its national regulator.

  • Safety and fleet

    Each school's safety and fleet reviewed before we place anyone.

  • Instructors

    Instructor availability checked against the intake.

  • Accommodation

    Help with accommodation questions on arrival and after.

  • Escalation

    An advisor who knows your file and steps in whenever you need support.

  • Cadet desk

    Medical emergencies, visa and money-transfer issues.

Money milestones

Pay against visible milestones

  1. 1
    Written cost planTuition, exams, living, visa, insurance and conversion in one budget, before any deposit.
  2. 2
    Itemised quotationsInclusions, exclusions, rates and payment terms from each school, in writing.
  3. 3
    Staged paymentsAn invoice schedule matched to training stages, not one large transfer.
  4. 4
    Account statementsAsk the school for statements and a refund policy; we help you read them.
  5. 5
    Flexibility bufferContingency for weather, maintenance and re-tests, which are normal in flight training.
Training aircraft lined up on the apron

Student visa

Student visas, destination by destination

From India to the USA

M-1 student visa, with Form I-20 and SEVIS

  1. Accepted by an SEVP-certified flight school that issues an M-1 Form I-20.

  2. Pay SEVIS I-901 fee.

  3. Complete DS-160 and attend the US embassy/consulate interview.

Full visa checklist shared by your advisor

Get my visa checklist

Official source: travel.state.gov

How we help

  • File preparationYour visa file put together with you, in the order the authority asks for.
  • Documents checklistA checklist for your route, from school documents to proof of funds.
  • Appointment trackingWe keep track of your appointment and the next step with you.
  • Interview preparationPractice for the visa interview where your route has one.

General guidance only. Visas are decided by the authorities, so we make no visa promises and quote no processing times as guarantees.

Questions

Questions about conversion

What is a conversion audit?

Send us your licence, logbook summary and medical dates. We return a sequenced timeline with the bottlenecks flagged.

How long does conversion take?

It depends on your regulator, your exam results and test availability. We map it for you rather than quote a fixed time.

Can you convert to regulators other than DGCA?

Each country page explains your regulator's route, with official sources and the date we checked them.

Is there a fee to talk to you?

No. The first counselling call to check eligibility and map your route costs nothing, and there is no deposit to talk to us.

Will you help me convert my foreign licence when I return to India?

Yes. We help you convert your foreign licence to an Indian DGCA licence on your return, and we plan the steps from the start of your training. Licence conversion fees are separate and are paid to the ATO and the aviation authority who convert your licence.

What does licence conversion involve?

Usually a medical from your home regulator, theory exams on local air law and other subjects, verification of your foreign licence and logbook, and a skill test with an approved examiner. The exact steps differ by country, and your country page shows the first ones. Your advisor or student counsellor walks you through the full list in a conversation.

Pilot wearing a headset in a light aircraft cockpit
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