Alien Flight Student Program

Looking to do flight training in the US, but you’re not a US citizen?  Then you’ll need to visit https://www.flightschoolcandidates.gov

Welcome to the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) Alien Flight Student Program website.

The mission of the Alien Flight Student Program is to ensure that Non-U.S. Citizen candidates seeking training at flight schools regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) do not pose a threat to aviation or national security. 49 U.S.C.44939 and 49 CFR Part 1552 prohibit a U.S. flight school from providing flight training to an alien unless the alien has submitted certain information to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and TSA has determined that the alien does not pose a threat to aviation or national security. This website contains the application for aliens seeking to train at FAA-regulated flight schools Candidates must complete this application prior to beginning flight training.

Candidates seeking flight training fall into one of four categories. A brief explanation of the categories follows:

Category 1

Candidates who seek flight training in the operation of aircraft with a maximum certified takeoff weight greater than 12,500 pounds but do not fall into Category 2.

Category 2

Candidates who seek flight training in the operation of aircraft with a maximum certified takeoff weight greater than 12,500 pounds, and who:

• Hold an airman’s certificate that is recognized by the FAA or a US military agency, and that permits the candidate to operate a multi-engine aircraft that has a certificated takeoff weight of more than 12,500 pounds.
• Are employed by a foreign air carrier that holds a security program approved under 14 CFR part 1546;
• Have unescorted access authority to a secured area of an airport under U.S.C 44936(a)(1)(A)(ii), 49 CFR 1542.229; or
• Are a flight crew member who has successfully completed a criminal history records check in accordance with 49 CFR 1544.230

Category 3

• Candidates who seek flight training in the operation of aircraft with a maximum certificated takeoff weight of 12,500 pounds or less for the following training events: an initial airman’s certificate, Instrument Rating, and Multi Engine land (MEL). Each of these training events requires a separate training request.

Category 4

• Candidates who seek recurrent flight training for an aircraft with a maximum certified takeoff weight greater than 12,500 pounds, and who are current and qualified on the aircraft for which they are requesting training.

Further details on flight training candidate categories are available in the Alien Flight Student Program Interim Final Rule (Docket ID – 19147), which can be viewed at IFR_Alien_Pilot.pdf.

What is your next step?

• If you are a flight training candidate who qualifies for Categories 1, 2, or 3, then proceed with the login steps below and begin filling in the TSA application.
  1. After you validate and submit your application for flight training, your flight training provider will be notified via email and required to validate or reject knowledge of your intent to receive flight training with them. If the flight training provider validates your request, you will receive e-mail notification and must submit payment via the AFSP website.
  2. Once TSA receives confirmation of your payment, you will receive e-mail notification with instructions on how to submit fingerprints.
  3. Candidates in Categories 1 and 2 are required to wait until approval from TSA before commencing training. You and the provider will both be notified when final approval to train is granted.
  4. Candidates in Category 3 may commence training upon payment of the application fee and acknowledgement of receipt of their fingerprints by TSA. You and the provider will both be notified once TSA receives the fingerprints and you have permission to initiate training.
• If you are a flight training candidate who qualified for Category 4, please contact your flight school for further instructions.

if you should have questions throughout the application process please view the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) link or you can contact the Alien Flight Student Program Help Desk.

If you are an AFSP Candidate, and are in need of a new account on the system, please select the link in order to fill out an account request template.

If you already have an account on the system but forgot your password, please select the link in order to reset your password.

Department of Defense endorsements

49 U.S.C.44939 and 49 CFR Part 1552 prohibit a U.S. flight school from providing flight training to an alien unless the alien has submitted certain information to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and TSA has determined that the alien does not pose a threat to aviation or national security. Aliens who have been endorsed by the US Department of Defense (DOD) are exempt from the TSA security threat assessment. To verify that the alien has been endorsed by the U.S. DOD, a letter from the DOD attaché at the U.S. Embassy in the alien’s country of residence must be presented to the Flight Training Provider. A DOD Attaché may log in to the AFSP DOD website and submit the relevant training details. AFSP will issue the DOD endorsement letter to the Flight Training Provider