Convert your SACAA licence to CAA NZ
Holding an SACAA pilot licence and moving to New Zealand? Here's the full picture of converting to a CAA NZ licence — the paperwork, exams, flight test, medical and English requirements at PPL, CPL and ATPL level, with links to CAA NZ's official pages. Every requirement below is set by CAA NZ, the authority issuing your new licence.
Starting from an SACAA licence
Every conversion begins on your side of it. Before CAA NZ will credit anything you hold, it wants the licence confirmed as genuine and current by the authority that issued it — the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA). Ask for that early: it is outside your control, and it is the step that most often holds everything else up.
What SACAA licences are called
- 1.RPL — Recreational Pilot Licence
- 2.PPL — Private Pilot Licence
- 3.CPL — Commercial Pilot Licence
- 4.ATPL — Airline Transport Pilot Licence
The medical you hold now
A Class 2 medical for private flying, or a Class 1 for commercial — from a SACAA-designated examiner. CAA NZ will set its own medical standard — it is listed at each level below — and a certificate from SACAA does not automatically carry across.
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The CAA NZ requirements, level by level
Everything CAA NZ requires of an SACAA licence holder — application, theory exams, flight test, medical and English — at each licence level, grounded in CAA NZ's official pages (linked below).
PPL — Private Pilot Licence
- Application & verification
- A current ICAO PPL can be recognised for an NZ Validation Permit (a short-term document, not an NZ licence). A full NZ PPL is issued under Part 61.
- Theory exams
- NZ air-law knowledge is required for a full Part 61 licence (not for a short-term validation).
- Flight test
- No flight test for a PPL-level validation; a flight test applies for a full NZ PPL.
- Medical
- Hold an NZ Class 2 medical.
- English proficiency
- ICAO ELP Level 4+ — no NZ demonstration needed if already endorsed on your licence.
CPL — Commercial Pilot Licence
- Application & verification
- Apply for an NZ Validation Permit, or a full NZ CPL under Part 61. Validation is only to an equivalent or lower level.
- Theory exams
- NZ theory/air-law applies for a full licence; commercial duties on a validation require completing the operator’s training-and-checking system.
- Flight test
- Pass an NZ CPL issue flight test with an Aspeq flight examiner.
- Medical
- Hold an NZ Class 1 medical.
- English proficiency
- ICAO ELP Level 4+ (credited if already endorsed).
ATPL — Airline Transport Pilot Licence
- Application & verification
- Apply for an NZ Validation Permit, or a full NZ ATPL under Part 61.
- Theory exams
- Complete NZ theory requirements for a full licence; validation holders must pass the operator’s competency checks before commercial duties.
- Flight test
- Pass the required NZ flight test(s) for a full licence.
- Medical
- Hold an NZ Class 1 medical.
- English proficiency
- ICAO ELP Level 4+ (credited if already endorsed).
Requirements change — always confirm the current rules with CAA NZ before you start. Official links below.
Planning your CAA NZ conversion
Start the CAA NZ application first
Verification against your existing licence gates the exams and flight test, so lodge the application before booking either. Apply for an NZ Validation Permit, or a full NZ CPL under Part 61. Validation is only to an equivalent or lower level.
Book the medical early
The medical gates your exams and skill test, and it's where surprises surface. Sitting it early means you find out about any issues before you've paid for training or test slots. For CAA NZ commercial privileges: Hold an NZ Class 1 medical.
Keep your current licence and medical valid
Verification is done against a valid licence, and some routes stay tied to it after issue — letting it lapse mid-conversion can stall or unwind the process.
Confirm fees on CAA NZ's official pages
You'll typically pay separately for the application, each theory exam, the medical examination and the skill test. Amounts change — use the official links on this page for current fee schedules.
You'll need your hours in CAA NZ format
CAA NZ wants your experience presented the way it recognises it. AvLog is a free logbook laid out to NZ CAA Part 61 — it totals PIC, night, instrument, cross-country and time on type, and checks your recency against CAA NZ's own rules. No sign-up, opens in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers.
Get the free NZ CAA logbookWork through it step by step
AvLink's interactive converter turns this guide into your own checklist for any licence and country pair — tick off each requirement as you go, and see the New Zealand roles you'd qualify for on the other side.
Open the interactive converterOfficial CAA NZ sources
SACAA → CAA NZ: frequently asked questions
Do I have to retake theory exams to convert my SACAA licence to CAA NZ?
For a commercial licence: NZ theory/air-law applies for a full licence; commercial duties on a validation require completing the operator’s training-and-checking system. PPL and ATPL theory requirements differ — see the level-by-level breakdown on this page.
Do I need a flight test (skill test) for a CAA NZ commercial licence?
Pass an NZ CPL issue flight test with an Aspeq flight examiner. Requirements at PPL and ATPL level are listed above.
What medical do I need to convert to a CAA NZ licence?
For commercial privileges: Hold an NZ Class 1 medical. For private privileges: Hold an NZ Class 2 medical.
Does my ICAO English proficiency transfer to CAA NZ?
ICAO ELP Level 4+ (credited if already endorsed).
How do I apply to convert my SACAA licence to CAA NZ?
Apply for an NZ Validation Permit, or a full NZ CPL under Part 61. Validation is only to an equivalent or lower level. The official CAA NZ pages linked on this page cover the current forms and process.
While your conversion is underway
Get New Zealand roles that match your licence — emailed weekly
Conversions take months. Line up the seat while you work through the CAA NZ requirements: tell us your hours and ratings once, and we'll send the roles you actually qualify for as they post.
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Want this mapped for your licence?
A SACAA → CAA NZ plan, written around your hours
Which of the requirements above you still have to meet, which your SACAA licence exempts you from, what your logged hours already cover, and the order to do it in — with a realistic cost and timeline.