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  1. Age: You must be 18 years of age to  receive a student visa and commence your training with Australian National Airline College.
  2. Education – whilst there is no minimum education required by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) for a person to train as a pilot, we would expect a minimum education standard of at least equivalent to Australian Year 11 and a reasonable level of maths.
  3. Meet student visa requirements – character, genuine student and financial requirements. You can ask us about the Student Visa and also find details at the Australian Home Affairs website here
  4. You must pass a an Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) aviation medical examination. See AVIATION MEDICAL for details.
  5. You must be prepared to undergo a Federal Police check for your Aviation Security Identity Card
  6. Unless exempt from undertaking an English test, (see below for exemptions), the Student Visa requires you to do one of their specified English tests.
    The Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) also has its own English requirements that are different to the Student Visa requirements (see below for CASA exemptions)
    If you do need to do an English test, its important to choose the best test that satisfies both the Student Visa and CASA requirements.
    IELTS is the best option to satisfy both Student Visa and CASA requirements
    TOEFL iBT can be effective – if you score 71+ then all requirements are satisfied but if you score 64-70 you will meet student visa requirements but still need to be assessed on arrival by a CASA approved assessor,
    Pearson, Cambridge English and the Occupational English Test (OET) are okay for the Student Visa however to meet CASA requirements you would need to be assessed on arrival by a CASA approved assessor.
    Note: Your assessment with a CASA approved assessor will result in an ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) English Language Proficiency Level of between 1 and 6. The minimum required is Level 4 (a Native Speaker would usually be Level 6). You should be confident that if you achieve any of the test results outlined below, that you should achieve at least Level 4.
    IELTS
    The minimum required IELTS score is 6.0 with none of the test scores (reading, writing, listening, speaking) below 5.5.
    The IELTS test can ge “General” or “Academic”
    Find an IELTS test center here: https://ielts.org/test-centres
    TOEFL IBT at Secure Test Center
    The minimum TOEFL IBT test score for the Student Visa is 64 (at least 12 for listening, 13 for reading, 21 for writing and 18 for speaking) and for CASA the minimum overall test score is 71
    NOTE:  The Australian Department of Home Affairs (DHA) only accepts scores from approved tests taken at secure test centers. The DHA does not accept scores from at-home or online tests, such as the TOEFL iBT Home Edition
    PEARSON PTE
    The minimum Pearson PTE Academic test score for the Student Visa is 50.
    Cambridge English (CAE) also known as C1 Advanced
    Minimum Score: at least 169 in each of the 4 components
     
    Note: From 12 February 2024, only results from the paper-based Cambridge C1 Advanced test (previously known as Cambridge English: Advanced CAE) will be accepted for Australian visa and migration purposes.
    Occupational English Test (OET)
    Minimum score: At least B for each of the 4 components
     
    EXEMPTIONS FROM ENGLISH TESTING
    Student Visa Exemptions
    You do not need to give us evidence of an English test score with your visa application if one of the following applies:
    • you are a citizen and hold a passport from UK, USA, Canada, NZ or Republic of Ireland
    • you are enrolled in a principal course of study that is a standalone English Language Intensive Course for Overseas Students (ELICOS) – this means if you do not have the required English but are intending to undertake ELICOS first, then you don’t need to meet the standards outlined above. See below for minimum requirements to undertake ELICOS
    • you have completed at least 5 years’ study in English in Australia, UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, or the Republic of Ireland
    • in the 2 years before applying for the student visa you completed the Senior Secondary Certificate of Education in Australia in English while you held a student visa
    • in the 2 years before applying for the student visa you completed a substantial component of a course that would qualify you under the Australian Qualifications Framework at the Certificate IV or higher level, while you held a student visa.

    Note: We may need you to give us evidence of an English test score with your visa application if you hold a British National Overseas (BNO) passport

    CASA Exemptions
    To show your general English language proficiency you must provide proof that you:
    • Completed or are completing secondary school in Australia or New Zealand, or the equivalent in an English-speaking country
    • Worked in Australia or New Zealand for at least 3 of the last 5 years
    • Worked in a specified country for at least 3 of the last 5 years and successfully completed an English language proficiency test
    •  For students who do not meet the required standard of English or who wish to develop their English skills, a number of courses are available that can be taken prior to the pilot courses. Our associate English College can conduct an English test which will indicate the length and type of course you require. Based on the information from this test we can quote you a cost for an appropriate course.
  7. You will need to undertake an on line interview with one of our instructors. The purpose of the interview is to check your communication skills, motivation for doing a pilot training course, basic knowledge of the aviation industry and understanding of the requirements and structure of a Commercial Pilot Licence course.
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