How to immigrate and work in Switzerland as a pilot?

Flying has always been one of your dreams, and you want to make it true in a European country. You have picked Switzerland to immigrate and work as a pilot in this amazing country. This article will bring you what the requirements are and the stages you have to follow. This is your ultimate guide to immigrating and working in Switzerland as a pilot.

Table of Contents

What are the requirements?

These are the generally required items to immigrate and work in Switzerland as a pilot;

Get admission to a flight school.

You need to study in a Swiss flight school and get a certificate to become a pilot in this country. So it is necessary to get admission to a Swiss flight school. You can see the below section to find more information.

The school you find and attend is up to the certificate you need for your career goals and conditions. For instance, determine whether you can afford the tuition and costs of studying at this flight school or not.

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Immigrate to Switzerland as a Pilot

Fulfill language requirements.

There is always a language requirement with the flight schools, and you have to fulfill them. The required language is often English, and the approved test is often IELTS. But it might be different with this Swiss flight school.

You have to figure the language requirement out and fulfill it. Also, there might be an entrance test that you have to pass.

If you are determined to immigrate and work in Switzerland as a pilot, you’d better work on your English, Swiss, or German language skills.

Have enough funds to pay tuition and cover expenses.

If you do not receive funds from a future employer who covers your expenses, you must have enough money yourself to cover your expenses and tuition for the flight school.

You have to figure out the Swiss flight school tuition and determine you can afford it or not. The school might ask you to pay part of all of your tuition. It’s up to their rules and policy. Also, it’s essential to demonstrate to the embassy and immigration officials that you can afford the tuition and cost of living in Switzerland.

Being able to get a student visa.

After you get admission to a Swiss flight school, you need a student visa to enter the country and continue your education. You must be able to get a student visa and fulfill the requirements. To get the visa, you need an admission letter from a Swiss flight school. Then, you have to gather the supporting documents. You must be able to gather all of the student visa supporting documents. For instance, a clean record certificate or a valid passport is among the requirements. You must be able to gather all of them and provide them to the embassy.

Also, the rules and regulations of your home country must allow you to leave your home country. Moreover, you must be able to enter Europe and the EU.

Note; the above list of required items is a general list, and you might need further items. If you read the procedure section, you will find out the required items in each step. You might face other requirements and eligibility principles.

What is the procedure you have to follow?

This is the procedure you have to follow to become a pilot in Switzerland. Read the entire stages carefully to find out what you have to do.

Determine the certificate you need for your career goals.

For the first step, you should determine the type of pilot you want to become. The pilot career you want to have in Switzerland needs a certain certificate or degree. You should find out which one it is.

For instance, if you want to become a passenger pilot, you need a Private Pilot License (PPL) certificate. It allows you to fly cargo planes too, but you should determine the rules, regulations, and restrictions.

These are some of the certificates you need and can get in Switzerland. If you know the type of pilot you want to become, determine which one you need to work in the position;

Student Pilot License (SPL)
Private Pilot License (PPL)
Commercial Pilot License (CPL)
Instrument Rating (IR)
Multi-Engine Rating (MER)
Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL)

Moreover, you need to find out the general requirements for each certificate. For example, there might be an age restriction with the certificate you need, and you are not able to apply for it.

Find a flight school in Switzerland.

You need to find a flight school in Switzerland that offers the certificate you want. This is why you have to determine your career goals and the certificate you need. If you know what you want, you can pick the flight schools that suit you easily.

This is a sample list of some of the flight schools in Switzerland. Visit their website to find out the requirements and eligibility principles;

Horizon Swiss Flight Academy – The Swiss Flight School.
SWISS Flying Club.
FLUGSCHULE EICHENBERGER AG.
Air-Espace Flight Academy.
AVIATIS FTO.
EFOS Flight.
Flugschule Grenchen.
Flugsportgruppe Grenchen.
Swiss Aviation Training Ltd.
Fly 7 Executive Aviation SA
Horizon Swiss Flight Academy

Determine the flight school requirements & get admission.

After you find the flight school that offers the certificate you want and accepts international students, you need to find out the requirements and admission with them. Determine an exact list of the required items and determine whether you can fulfill them or not.

This is a sample list of the items you have to figure out;

Age requirement.
Latest educational degree.
Tuition.
Language fluency requirement.
Soft skills
Hard skills (maths, science, etc.)
Computer skills.
Background check-up.
Medical check-up.
Etc.

If you can fulfill the requirements, you have to apply to the flight school and get admission. After you get admission, you can apply for a student visa.

Apply for a student visa.

You need a student visa to pass a flight school course in Switzerland. Getting admission to a Swiss flight school is the first step. After you receive the admission letter, you need to gather the student visa supporting documents;

Application form.
Passport.
Photo.
Proof to have enough funds.
Proof to have funds for tuition.
Clean record certificate.
CV/Resume.
Latest educational documents.
Letter of motivation
Commitment letter
Health insurance
Proof of accommodation
Payment of tuition

Note; flight school tuition is a bit expensive, and you must be able to afford it. Determine this essential requirement before you take any steps. You need to show you have enough funds or money to pay the tuition or pay part of the tuition to get your student visa.

After you are done collecting the documents, you need to schedule a meeting with the Swiss embassy/Consulate in your home country.

You must visit them in person on the booked date and bring all the documents. Then you have to submit your documents to the officials, pay the visa processing fees and answer their questions regarding the purpose of your visit. This is the interview part; you need to give true and honest answers about your studies in Switzerland.

After you are done with the embassy, wait for visa processing. The embassy informs you of the results and how to get the visa label on your passport. After you get the stick on your passport, you can move to Switzerland and begin your course in this flight school.

Apply for a work permit.

After you complete your course and get your degree, you might have to pass a test to become a pilot in Switzerland; it’s up to you to find it out with the Federal Office of Aviation FOCA.

After that, you have to look for a job offer as a pilot in Switzerland. You need the job offer so the Swiss employer can apply for a work permit for you. Only employers can apply for a work permit, and you, as a non-EU national, can not apply for a work permit. After you find the employer, you have to sign an employment contract with him/her. It must contain every aspect of the employment;

The date it will begin and end.
Location of the job.
Bonuses
Job title
Duties
Salary or hourly rate
investment/retirement plans
Health benefits
Skill requirements
Team & department assignment
Job description
Raises, bonuses, incentive opportunities
Company stock options
Role requirements
Etc.

Your employer will inform you of the documents you have to submit to get your work permit. After your work permit is issued, you can begin working as a pilot. The process ends here.

If you are outside of Switzerland at the time of application, you need a work visa to enter the country.

You can find more information about Switzerland’s work visa from the Visa Library article or watch the video we have prepared on our YouTube channel.

Pilot’s salaries in Switzerland.

Your salary as a pilot is up to your certificate, the position you have, and your work experience. When you begin your work as a new pilot, you can not expect to earn the same as an experienced pilot with a few years of flying experience.

But according to Glassdoor, the average salary of a pilot in Switzerland is about CHF 135,332 per year.

According to Salary Explorer, the average salary is about 210,000 CHF per year. The lowest salary is about 103,000 CHF, while the highest is about 327,000 CHF.

According to Salary Expert, the average salary is about CHF 150.438 per year.

Is it hard to immigrate and work in Switzerland as a pilot?

The answer could be yes, as the competition is tough, and there are so many people who want to become a pilot in Switzerland. You might have to compete with the best applicants, so that might be a bit difficult.

Also, you need to get admission to a Swiss flight school. You have to fulfill the requirements and get admission; there is no other choice. So it could be a bit hard to get admission to a Swiss flight school and fulfill the requirements. For instance, you might have to work hard for one year to get a language fluency certificate.

If you fulfill the requirements and can meet the eligibility principles, it becomes easy to immigrate and work in Switzerland as a pilot.

Do I need language proficiency to immigrate and work in Switzerland as a pilot?

The answer is yes; you need a language fluency certificate to become a pilot in Switzerland. The requirement is with the Swiss flight school, and you have to figure it out. Take a look at the above list of flight schools in Switzerland. Visit their website and determine the language fluency requirements with them. It’s often English, and the required test is often English.

Language fluency requirements might be different with each flight school and the certificate you want to get.

How much does it cost to become a pilot in Switzerland?

The cost is up to the flight school and the tuition you have to pay. When you look for a flight school in Switzerland that offers admission to foreign students, determine the tuition and find out whether you can afford it or not.

The costs start from $75,995 to $96,995. You should contact the school and ask them the cost for the whole duration and whether there are other expenses or not.

Besides the tuition, you have to pay about 300 – 1,700 EUR per month for the cost of living. But it’s a bit different for each city and lifestyle.

Let’s sum up…

The Visa Library team brought you how to immigrate and work as a pilot in Switzerland through this article. You learned about the required items and the procedure you have to follow.

You also got answers to some of your questions.

If you have further questions, write them down in the comment section. The Visa Library team will answer them.