Validating a Foreign Pilot Licence in Türkiye

A pilot licensed abroad who wants to fly Turkish-registered aircraft needs the Turkish civil aviation authority, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (SHGM), to convert or validate the licence. The rules are in the SHY-1 Pilot Licence Regulation and in SHGM's guidance.

Conversion and validation

To fly a Turkish-registered aircraft, a pilot needs a Turkish licence or one of the foreign licences the regulation allows: a valid Part-FCL licence issued by an EASA member state whose holder SHGM has permitted to work in Türkiye, or a licence issued by a foreign state under Annex 1 to the Chicago Convention and validated by SHGM.

Licences issued by EASA member states under Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 can be converted into a national licence, provided the licensing requirements are met. A licence issued by a state that is not an EASA member can be validated, at SHGM's initiative, for use on an aircraft on the Turkish civil register. More generally, licences issued by foreign states can be converted into a national licence if all requirements are met. SHGM may confirm the validity of licences, ratings, approvals or certificates with the issuing country.

The confirmation letter

According to an SHGM announcement, pilots licensed abroad must obtain an authorisation for JAA/EASA-licensed pilots or a validation certificate before working on Turkish-registered aircraft. These applications require a licence confirmation letter from the civil aviation authority that issued the licence, sent by that authority to SHGM by email before the application. The regulation and announcement texts we quote do not mention an apostille or a translation.

We translate licences and supporting documents into Turkish in Ankara through translators sworn before a Turkish notary where SHGM asks for them. SHGM decides on conversion or validation.