Your experience remains.
Your licence becomes EASA.
Professional guidance for converting third-country pilot licences into EASA Part-FCL licences — for airline, business aviation and helicopter pilots worldwide.
From your current licence to the right EASA pathway.
Licence conversion is rarely a standardised process. Your licence type, state of issue, flight experience, existing ratings, medical certification, language proficiency and competent EASA authority determine the route that is both appropriate and legally available to you.
Cranfield structures the process from the outset. We assess your starting point, define the regulatory pathway, coordinate theoretical knowledge requirements and authority communication, and guide you through the required next steps. The formal licensing decision always remains with the competent EASA aviation authority.
Three typical conversion scenarios.
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/723 provides the framework for the acceptance of third-country pilot licences. The practical route depends on your licence, ratings, experience and the competent authority handling the application.
Experienced airline or multi-crew pilot
For holders of an ICAO-compliant ATPL with substantial flight experience, a more direct route to an EASA licence may be available.
- Individual assessment of eligible flight-experience credits
- EASA theoretical knowledge examinations where required
- Medical, language proficiency and authority requirements
- Skill test and type-rating related steps as required by the authority
Build the missing EASA elements
Where the requirements for a full ATPL conversion are not met, we develop a modular EASA pathway around your existing qualifications.
- ATPL/CPL/IR theory as required
- ATO recommendation for reduced training where permitted
- Practical training plan with an EASA ATO
- Examination and licensing coordination
Convert what you need — not more
Private third-country licences and individual ratings can also be mapped into an EASA pathway, depending on the individual case.
- Licence and rating assessment
- Required theory and skill test planning
- Medical and language requirements
- Clear route to the competent authority
One coordinated process.
We reduce complexity by placing every regulatory element into a clear sequence. You retain a transparent view of your status, the next required steps and the evidence still needed throughout the process.
More than a theory course.
Regulatory & training coordination
Authority & licence support
Your licence may be national. Your career is global.
Whether you hold an FAA, UK CAA or another ICAO contracting-state licence, what matters is not where your training began, but how effectively your existing qualifications are transferred into the European regulatory framework.
Cranfield supports pilots from different regulatory systems, bringing theoretical knowledge, authority coordination and practical training partners together in one internationally focused conversion process.
Start with a structured assessment.
The Conversion Service Fee covers our coordination of your licence-conversion process. Depending on your individual pathway, additional costs may arise for theoretical knowledge training, examination fees, medical certification, practical training, skill tests, simulator sessions, type ratings or authority fees.
Additional Cranfield services, including digital learning access, specialist course material or individual contact-training days, can be added where appropriate.
Regulatory note: Final recognition of flight experience, ratings and training credits, as well as the issue of any Part-FCL licence, rests exclusively with the competent aviation authority. Requirements may vary according to licence, state of issue, competent authority and individual circumstances.
Conversion questions, answered.
Can every ICAO licence be converted directly into an EASA licence?
Do I always have to complete a full EASA training course?
What happens if I hold a CPL, IR or frozen ATPL instead of a full ATPL?
Can Cranfield organise practical training as well?
When can I start?
Ready to bring your licence into EASA?
Start the conversion process with Cranfield Aviation.
