FAA to JAA Conversion?

At risk of bumping an old thread... I know things change over time.

I've been considering it for a long time, but I've decided that I would like to move to Sweden for a while. I'm an active airline pilot in the US, flying for a regional. I recognize that getting a flying job in Sweden very well might be totally impossible, but I was wondering if study related to FAA/JAA conversion can be used as the basis of a residence permit in Sweden. I would like to live there for a while and study the language, and I'd prefer to stay involved in aviation, if possible.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? @Skåning?

-Fox
 
Acrofox said:
At risk of bumping an old thread... I know things change over time.

I've been considering it for a long time, but I've decided that I would like to move to Sweden for a while. I'm an active airline pilot in the US, flying for a regional. I recognize that getting a flying job in Sweden very well might be totally impossible, but I was wondering if study related to FAA/JAA conversion can be used as the basis of a residence permit in Sweden. I would like to live there for a while and study the language, and I'd prefer to stay involved in aviation, if possible.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? @Skåning?

-Fox
Click to expand...

Oooo very cool! So you have a couple of different things going on, first the immigration/studying. Migrationsverket is the Swedish immigration agency, their website is really easy to navigate and in English which is really nice. I would suggest clicking through it and see what may apply to you or best fit your needs.

A few years ago my girlfriend (wife now) applied for a teaching job at an International school and got offered a job with no teaching experience. They would have sponsored her for residency. A few years after that we were living in Florida and I applied to sponsored her for a work permit and residency (I've had a Swedish passport since birth). We did a simple interview and she got a 5 year one. It's since expired but I'm sure she could get another easily since we're married. The point of all that is Sweden is, from our experience, pretty liberal in their immigration policy. If you have something to offer they're really welcoming.

Also, I've seen on the other threads that you don't have a college degree, maybe you'd consider getting one in Sweden? I believe it's free/very cheap and they may even give you a living allowance. My Swedish cousin gets paid to go to college (as all people do there), it's not a lot but doesn't leave a new grad with crippling debt like the US. Oh and a bachelors degree in Europe is usually only 3 years, and a masters is 1 year.

As far as flying goes that is a lengthy and expensive process. Converting your license to EASA is a minimum year worth of work and $10,000. Fly jobs in the country aren't that great compared to the US in scheduling and flexibility. The domestic market is really saturated and Ryanair/Norweign take a big bite out of it.

There are CAE simulators in Copenhagen (right across the bridge from southern Sweden) and Stockholm, they may offer seat support or instructor gigs while you are studying. If you have your CFI and a N-numbered plane you could even instruct in that. Just some ideas to get you thinking about options.

I hope I wasn't rambling on too much and feel free to ask any other questions that you may have!
 
Skåning said:
Oooo very cool! So you have a couple of different things going on, first the immigration/studying. Migrationsverket is the Swedish immigration agency, their website is really easy to navigate and in English which is really nice. I would suggest clicking through it and see what may apply to you or best fit your needs.
Click to expand...

Yah... I mean, I've looked through it all. I've been thinking about this for years, on and off. It started as a bit of almost whimsy a decade ago, but has ... ah ... progressed. Now, that said—

A few years ago my girlfriend (wife now) applied for a teaching job at an International school and got offered a job with no teaching experience. They would have sponsored her for residency. A few years after that we were living in Florida and I applied to sponsored her for a work permit and residency (I've had a Swedish passport since birth). We did a simple interview and she got a 5 year one. It's since expired but I'm sure she could get another easily since we're married. The point of all that is Sweden is, from our experience, pretty liberal in their immigration policy. If you have something to offer they're really welcoming.
Click to expand...

... I'm just a swamp rat from Florida. I'm American, I have no dual citizenship anywhere, I have no credentials, affiliations... and no serious love interest / sambo / etc. Everything I see about education, immigration, etc, seems to cater to EU / EEA people.

I have teaching experience, as a flight instructor. I have a twenty year career in the tech industry at the top of my field in unix systems architecture. I am a high-level (college/regionals/nationals) ice hockey official. I am an airline pilot with an E-175 (ERJ-170/ERJ-190) type rating. And none of that means anything at all. And I'm ok with that, as long as I can make something work. Now, that segues to your next point...

Also, I've seen on the other threads that you don't have a college degree, maybe you'd consider getting one in Sweden? I believe it's free/very cheap and they may even give you a living allowance. My Swedish cousin gets paid to go to college (as all people do there), it's not a lot but doesn't leave a new grad with crippling debt like the US. Oh and a bachelors degree in Europe is usually only 3 years, and a masters is 1 year.
Click to expand...

I would truly love to study in Sweden and get a degree. It sounds like a dream come true, in a way that studying in the US never has. That said, it is most certainly not free. My Swedish friend had loans for his, and even then, it's a LOT more expensive, as near as I can tell, for non-EU/EEA/Switzerland students. Furthermore, I'm 37, left school in the 7th grade. (But have a highschool diploma, technically with a 4.0 GPA) and so I would be the least "competitive" applicant for available slots, I imagine. I'm picturing a world-wide population applying for education, including overachievers from every third-world country, Europe and Asia. I'm extremely pessimistic about my chances of actually being accepted into a course of study there. I have tried to find more information, but I find it very difficult. I'm building a big, fat notebook right now, however, trying to keep track of possibilities.

I also speak a little Swedish (very badly!), and am trying hard to learn.

As far as flying goes that is a lengthy and expensive process. Converting your license to EASA is a minimum year worth of work and $10,000. Fly jobs in the country aren't that great compared to the US in scheduling and flexibility. The domestic market is really saturated and Ryanair/Norweign take a big bite out of it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I definitely understand both. I really don't expect to be a viable job applicant in that part of the world, but it might give me an excuse to gain temporary residency... and perhaps the market would open up. I don't know where the world is going, so I have no idea how markets will behave, but I need a new adventure! And I don't want to give up flying completely, if I can find a way to keep my paw in the door... thus—

There are CAE simulators in Copenhagen (right across the bridge from southern Sweden) and Stockholm, they may offer seat support or instructor gigs while you are studying.
Click to expand...

I would actually be very interested in the possibility of instructing or doing seat support in Stockholm. That sounds pretty awesome, actually. Not sure about Copenhagen, though I did briefly consider living in Malmö. My friend is up in Dorotea (Västerbotten), though, so that's a bit of a hike.

If you have your CFI and a N-numbered plane you could even instruct in that. Just some ideas to get you thinking about options.
Click to expand...

I am a CFI, but I don't have a plane. It's an intriguing thought, though. I'm sure I have marketable skills, in some combination, but whether they form a whole that other people don't possess in the locality in which I'd like to live... a different story, entirely!

My most marketable skillset in the US is actually my unix hackery, which I'm very good at... but I don't want to go back to it exclusively. I want to keep a toeclaw in the flying world, at the very least...

I hope I wasn't rambling on too much and feel free to ask any other questions that you may have!
Click to expand...

No, no no no no!!! I'm super, super super happy that you replied! Thank you! I'm determined to go there to at least study for a few months sometime, but I'm still in the "everything is a mystery, no plan is possible" stage.

I'm willing to put in the work and, if it's possible, I'm willing to save up the money to bankroll myself through the conversion if that's what things come to—I'm still not entirely sure what's required, as everything is complicated by the matrix of requirements from around the world.

All I know is that I'm starting to feel stale, and I think a real change of venue could be just what I need for a while.

Tack så mycket!

~Fox
 
Acrofox said:
Yah... I mean, I've looked through it all. I've been thinking about this for years, on and off. It started as a bit of almost whimsy a decade ago, but has ... ah ... progressed. Now, that said—



... I'm just a swamp rat from Florida. I'm American, I have no dual citizenship anywhere, I have no credentials, affiliations... and no serious love interest / sambo / etc. Everything I see about education, immigration, etc, seems to cater to EU / EEA people.

I have teaching experience, as a flight instructor. I have a twenty year career in the tech industry at the top of my field in unix systems architecture. I am a high-level (college/regionals/nationals) ice hockey official. I am an airline pilot with an E-175 (ERJ-170/ERJ-190) type rating. And none of that means anything at all. And I'm ok with that, as long as I can make something work. Now, that segues to your next point...



I would truly love to study in Sweden and get a degree. It sounds like a dream come true, in a way that studying in the US never has. That said, it is most certainly not free. My Swedish friend had loans for his, and even then, it's a LOT more expensive, as near as I can tell, for non-EU/EEA/Switzerland students. Furthermore, I'm 37, left school in the 7th grade. (But have a highschool diploma, technically with a 4.0 GPA) and so I would be the least "competitive" applicant for available slots, I imagine. I'm picturing a world-wide population applying for education, including overachievers from every third-world country, Europe and Asia. I'm extremely pessimistic about my chances of actually being accepted into a course of study there. I have tried to find more information, but I find it very difficult. I'm building a big, fat notebook right now, however, trying to keep track of possibilities.

I also speak a little Swedish (very badly!), and am trying hard to learn.



Yeah, I definitely understand both. I really don't expect to be a viable job applicant in that part of the world, but it might give me an excuse to gain temporary residency... and perhaps the market would open up. I don't know where the world is going, so I have no idea how markets will behave, but I need a new adventure! And I don't want to give up flying completely, if I can find a way to keep my paw in the door... thus—



I would actually be very interested in the possibility of instructing or doing seat support in Stockholm. That sounds pretty awesome, actually. Not sure about Copenhagen, though I did briefly consider living in Malmö. My friend is up in Dorotea (Västerbotten), though, so that's a bit of a hike.



I am a CFI, but I don't have a plane. It's an intriguing thought, though. I'm sure I have marketable skills, in some combination, but whether they form a whole that other people don't possess in the locality in which I'd like to live... a different story, entirely!

My most marketable skillset in the US is actually my unix hackery, which I'm very good at... but I don't want to go back to it exclusively. I want to keep a toeclaw in the flying world, at the very least...



No, no no no no!!! I'm super, super super happy that you replied! Thank you! I'm determined to go there to at least study for a few months sometime, but I'm still in the "everything is a mystery, no plan is possible" stage.

I'm willing to put in the work and, if it's possible, I'm willing to save up the money to bankroll myself through the conversion if that's what things come to—I'm still not entirely sure what's required, as everything is complicated by the matrix of requirements from around the world.

All I know is that I'm starting to feel stale, and I think a real change of venue could be just what I need for a while.

Tack så mycket!

~Fox
Click to expand...

You're definitely on the right track and know your ish. It sounds like you've already put in a ton of work and research. I'd suggest taking a couple weeks and go exploring over there, visit friends, knock on doors and see what the real possibilities are. Often times seeing it from afar is not the same as you visiting schools or locales and finding out for yourself what opportunities may exist. I know that's kind of an abstract suggestion but coming from a guy who packed it all up and moved to Dubai to fly corporate, keep your eyes peeled for options elsewhere too.

Sometimes ya just gotta pull the trigger on something and see how it shakes out. Does Skywest (i think that's where you are) offer leaves of absence? Maybe that would be a consideration. Take a look at corporate gigs in the UK (if that's your sorta thing), i know they have a lot of N-numbered planes and M-numbered (isle of Man) that look for FAA license holders. Also quite a few opportunities in Asia with corporate and a few airlines operating the E190s. Keep us posted on how the search goes!
 
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