Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

4 Answers

Part 61 training abroad, TSA clearance

Asked by: 5944 views , ,
FAA Regulations, Flight Instructor

My question pertains to obtaining TSA clearance for flight training conducted outside the USA towards an FAA certificate under Part 61. Here are the facts:

The student is a non-US Citizen, and has no Visa at this time.

There is an FAA AME available, so obtaining a medical is possible.

The student owns the airplane. 

The instructor is an FAA ATP CFII.

The student's home country does not issue pilot certificates (and there are no flight schools, just one American CFI).

Does the student need TSA clearance to receive and log instruction towards a PPC under Part 61?

Is it possible to obtain TSA clearance without a visa and/or traveling to the US? 

Does the student need TSA clearance before getting a medical/student pilot certificate?

The student will travel to the US eventually for a checkride, but we are trying to figure out if training can be done before then.

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

4 Answers



  1. Kris Kortokrax on Jun 06, 2014

    The FAA has no regulations concerning this. Your question would need to be directed to TSA. Try http://www.tsa.gov

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  2. Nibake on Jun 06, 2014

    Another question would be – can the CFII give instruction in the foreign country? Some countries will recognize US pilot’s certificates but not instructor certificates.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  3. Shih-Cheng Chang on Jun 12, 2014

    We have similar situation in Taiwan(I am not sure if you live in Taiwan too). TSA clearance will be need before he fly to US to do flight training…So…if you just provide ground/flight training, even log hrs….TSA will not care about that. But if you need to get FAA PPL in US, it means you need to do checkride in US…and it means…FAA CFI need to endorse you for checkride and the instructor need to verify if you had TSA approve. It is CFI’s responsibility to do ID check.
    So…back to your question, you can do whatever you want to do outside the USA. TSA don’t care that….but you will need TSA approve before any flight training in US. It means…before you checkride, you will need TSA approve.

    Hope this help you.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  4. Shih-Cheng Chang on Jun 12, 2014

    Can FAA CFI teach student outside the US? It is local law….nothing related to FAA. For ex. in Taiwan, you need to get CAA approve before you teach…and how yo get CAA instructor? mmmm…..that is a good question and some people is working on this…..we will see.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.