Career path for foreign student pilots

[pilotfromhk]

Hi all!
I am looking into being an flight instructor in Canada
My ultimate goal is to work as instructor, then in regional airlines, eventually get 1500hrs and an ATPL such that I can get into other international airlines.
I know that I am eligible to get the PGWP and work up to 2 years depends on the period I take to finish the CPL and IR.
My question is that what I can do after my PGWP expires? Can the employers help me to get a work permit and will they do that? Or I need to get a PR?
Any non-Canadian working in Canada can share the experience?

[praveen4143]

You will need to get a PR while working on the PG Work Permit. PGWP is not extendable (Trust me, I tried and failed a long time ago!) and getting an open work permit might be a bit of a struggle depending on your situation. Some provinces have some rules surrounding PR applications which involve something on the lines of having worked for the same employer for 6 months or a year... Will probably be the best way to go.

[pilotfromhk]

Thanks for your reply! Yeah I guess probably I may need to get rhe PR as soon as possible... Originally I'm planning to finish all the things from 0 to IR in maybe around 1.5 years. But maybe it's better for me to finish it in 2 years such that I can get a PGWP of 3 years?

Btw did you get the PR eventually?

You will need to get a PR while working on the PG Work Permit. PGWP is not extendable (Trust me, I tried and failed a long time ago!) and getting an open work permit might be a bit of a struggle depending on your situation. Some provinces have some rules surrounding PR applications which involve something on the lines of having worked for the same employer for 6 months or a year... Will probably be the best way to go.

[praveen4143]

Btw did you get the PR eventually?

I ran out of time with my Work Permit and ended up returning to India. Then applied for my PR from there and returned a couple years later. Been here since 2012 and have eventually become a citizen here.

[pilotfromhk]

Btw did you get the PR eventually?

I ran out of time with my Work Permit and ended up returning to India. Then applied for my PR from there and returned a couple years later. Been here since 2012 and have eventually become a citizen here.

Yeah that is exactly what I am worried about. If my PGWP is going to expire and I get only something like 800-900 hours, I can neither stay in Canada (unless I get a PR) or get into any international airlines (which usually requires 1500hrs/ATPL). Then I would be stuck in the middle of nowhere.

[fish4life]

With the current state you will have an extremely hard time even getting the first job before it expires. In Canada right now there is a lot of 10 000 hour pilots laid off

[HD9113]

Hi there I am from Hong Kong as well, having the same thought as you except I have 0 hours. Have been preparing for CX Cadet Program for years but I can tell the CPP won't relaunch in years.
Moreover, I would like to start a life in Canada so seriously considering having a PPL CPL training in Ontario for like 2 years and get a PGWP working as an instructor, work on being a Canada PR. But is it too risky to do so? Since getting an instructor job seems competitive in here and once I could not become an instructor after all the trainings I need to return HK.

[praveen4143]

Things are very much in flux right now with the aviation industry in Canada. There is no right answer but a question of how much risk you’re willing to accept. If things go well, aviation might return to pre-Covid madness within a year or two, so your timing might work out well. On the other hand, aviation might not fully recover from this because of the amount of business travel that could have potentially been lost permanently from zoom calls becoming the way of the future. It’s anyone’s guess at this point.

[newlygrounded]

Things are very much in flux right now with the aviation industry in Canada. There is no right answer but a question of how much risk you’re willing to accept. If things go well, aviation might return to pre-Covid madness within a year or two, so your timing might work out well. On the other hand, aviation might not fully recover from this because of the amount of business travel that could have potentially been lost permanently from zoom calls becoming the way of the future. It’s anyone’s guess at this point.

Can it go back that fast? I was told every laid off person needs to be rehired before new people can come in. Then you have to wait for people to quit/retire to open up more spots and then for 703's to pull people from below and so on