International Clients

EFA welcomes foreign nationals to come for flight training or aircraft rental. Once you have decided that you would like to start flight training or rent an aircraft at EFA, please take a look at the steps below that we have established to make your introduction to EFA as smooth as possible. There is a separate section for Rental Pilots after the Flight Training section below.

Flight Training Students: International Student Application Process:

At EFA, we aim to make the application process as simple as possible. This process is outlined below:

1) Application: Fill out our simple Student Application on-line (click on Get Started Today) or print out and fax in the form: Student Application for Non US Citizens.pdf – this confirms your commitment to EFA for training. Please make sure to check ALL of the levels of flight training you would like to accomplish during your stay. If requested, we can estimate the cost of training for each certificate. Fax the student application back to us at: 1-781-274-6719.

GetStartedTodayBUTTON

2) International Administrative Fee: All international students that are looking to start training for any type of rating or course (Private through ATP) are required to pay our administrative fee to get started:

  • $250 for any applicant requiring an M-1 visa
  • $50 for each additional dependent requesting an M-1 dependent visa
  • There is no charge for applicants renting or training under a B-2 tourist visa, or if you are already in the USA under an F-1 or other visa.

This fee does not include any additional fees that you may need to pay for your TSA, VISA, or MassPort badge applications.

To pay this fee, we accept payment via PayPal (www.paypal.com). When you click on “Buy Now”, it will take you to PayPal’s secure website so that may pay with your credit card or debit card.

Number of M-1 Visas (plus dependents)

3) Student Visa: Any non-US citizen or green card holder will need to apply for a student visa to be able to take flight training at our school. EFA is authorized to assist with M-1 student visa applications as we are registered with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. The type of visa you will apply for is an M-1 visa, which is specifically for students. We will ask you for detailed information regarding your contact information, citizenship status, financial status and other details. Once we have this information, we will complete and send an I-20 form for you, which you will need to have with you when you apply for your visa. Accompanying the form will be the steps to take to make sure you have everything you need when you apply for your visa at the US Embassy or Consulate in your country. The M-1 visa application process has costs associated with it, please be sure to be aware of these costs when you get started.  Click here to download the I20 Form

Two requirements to remember:

You must be able to provide verification that you have the ability to pay for your tuition and living expenses while in the USA. You may be asked for this at the US Consulate or Embassy when you apply for your visa.

You must be proficient in English

4) TSA Application: (you can start this process now or when you arrive in the USA)
All non-US citizens who are planning to enroll in a flight training program (Private, Instrument, and Multi-engine only) are required to register with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). All other training (Commercial, Certified Flight Instructor, Airline Transport Pilot, Unusual Attitude, Aerobatics, etc.) can be conducted without TSA approval. The application fee is US$130.00, payable directly on-line with TSA. This process is completed on the TSA’s website. To complete the TSA process, you will also need to get fingerprints taken. If you are currently in the USA, you may get your finger’s printed at a Massachusetts State Police office (the office in the town of Concord can do it).

If you are currently outside the USA, fingerprinting services are now available at the following locations outside of the United States:

ARUBA: AIM Group, Noord
AUSTRALIA: location in Sydney Int’l Airport
AUSTRIA: Innsbruck
BRAZIL: 3 locations in Sao Paolo
CANADA: locations in Saskatchewan, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec
FRANCE: locations in Le Bourget, Cannes and Toussus-le-Noble
GERMANY: Grossostheim
ISRAEL: Rosh, Haayin
ITALY: locations in Sesto Calende and Bologna
JAPAN: mobile collector
PANAMA: Panama City
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Aramco
SWEDEN: Taby
SWITZERLAND: Zurich Airport
UNITED KINGDOM: Farnborough and Oxfordshire

If there are no locations in your country to get fingerprints taken, you may get them here in the USA at a state police office locally after you arrive. Go to this website for information: http://www.asc-csc.com/printoffices/ on where fingerprinting may be accomplished. Before you fill in any application for any fingerprinting location, please give the location a call to verify process.

Complete TSA registration instructions may be found in this document Guidelines for Non US Citizens.pdf This document will give you instructions on how to register at the Alien Flight Student Program

5) Short Term Housing: If you will not be staying with friends or family, may we suggest a few options for short term housing options. (these prices are subject to change)