TSA FTSP Application Guide for International Flight Students

Quick answer: if you are not a U.S. citizen or U.S. national, you must be approved by the Transportation Security Administration before you can begin flight training in the United States. The program is called the Flight Training Security Program (FTSP). It was previously called the Alien Flight Student Program (AFSP), and many flight school websites still use the old name and the old web address. You apply at fts.tsa.dhs.gov, your flight school validates your request, you pay a processing fee, you submit fingerprints, and TSA issues a determination. You cannot fly until that determination is favorable.

Who Needs TSA Approval?

You need an FTSP determination if you are not a U.S. citizen or U.S. national and you are seeking flight training toward an FAA certificate or rating. This includes permanent residents and green card holders. It applies whether the training happens in the United States or at an FAA-certificated provider abroad.

The requirement is triggered by the type of training, not by your visa. In practice, for students at a school like ours, it applies to:

• Initial pilot certification, meaning your first certificate
• Instrument rating
• Multi-engine rating
• Type ratings, which are handled under a separate category

U.S. citizens and U.S. nationals do not go through FTSP. They provide proof of citizenship to the flight school instead.

One Approval, Not One Per Rating

This is the single most misunderstood part of the process, and it catches students out on cost and on timing.

Under the current FTSP rule, you apply once, pay one consolidated processing fee, and receive a Determination of Eligibility that is valid for up to five years. That single determination covers multiple qualifying training events, including your initial certificate, your instrument rating and your multi-engine rating, with no new application and no new fee for each rating. This is a change from the old Alien Flight Student Program, where a separate request and fee applied to every training event, so older guides you find online often still describe that outdated process. Your school notifies TSA of each individual training event and confirms your determination before that training begins, but that is a step we handle on our side, not another charge to you.

The good news is that fingerprints are generally collected once. Candidates who have already been fingerprinted for a prior FTSP training request are not usually required to resubmit them for subsequent training.

The Four Categories

TSA sorts candidates into four categories, and your category depends mainly on the maximum certificated takeoff weight of the aircraft you will train in.

Students training in typical general aviation aircraft, which is what a Cessna 172 or a Piper Seminole is, fall into the light aircraft category, which covers aircraft at or below 12,500 pounds maximum certificated takeoff weight. Heavier aircraft and type rating training fall into the higher categories. There is also a category for recurrent training.

If you are training for your PPL, instrument rating, commercial certificate or multi-engine rating in a light training aircraft, your school will tell you which category applies to your specific request. You do not have to work this out on your own.

Step by Step

1. Get your visa sorted first. TSA will deny a training request from a candidate who is in the United States unlawfully or who does not hold a visa appropriate for flight training. Your F-1 or M-1 status comes first. FTSP comes after.
2. Create a candidate account. Go to fts.tsa.dhs.gov and register through the candidate portal. Enter your personal details exactly as they appear in your passport. A mismatch between your application and your passport is the most common reason applications stall.
3. Wait for your credentials. TSA sends your password separately, and it can take 24 to 48 hours. Follow the instructions in that email promptly.
4. Complete the training request. You will be asked to identify your flight training provider and the specific training you are requesting. Select Pelican Flight Training as your provider. If you are unsure which course code applies, ask your admissions contact before submitting rather than guessing.
5. Your school validates the request. We confirm on our side that you are a genuine incoming student and that the training details are correct. Nothing moves until this happens, so tell us when you have submitted.
6. Pay the processing fee. TSA emails payment instructions once your request is validated. The fee is set by TSA, is currently 140 U.S. dollars as a single consolidated fee that covers your training events for up to five years, and is not refundable. Confirm the current amount in the portal before paying, as TSA adjusts it periodically. Vetting does not begin until payment is verified.
7. Submit fingerprints. Once payment clears, TSA emails fingerprint instructions. Follow them exactly. Fingerprints are used for the FBI criminal history records check.
8. Receive your determination. TSA completes identity, immigration, watchlist and criminal history checks and issues either a Determination of Eligibility or a Determination of Ineligibility. The result goes to both you and your flight training provider.
9. Start flying. Training may begin only after a favorable determination. No school that intends to keep its certificate will let you fly before this, and you should be wary of any that offers to.

How Long It Takes

Plan for several weeks rather than several days. Straightforward applications are often processed inside two weeks, but processing time depends on TSA workload, on the completeness of your application, and on how quickly you complete fingerprinting.

The practical advice: start your FTSP application as soon as your visa is approved and your start date is set. Do not wait until you arrive in Florida. Students who arrive with an approved determination already in hand begin flying in their first week. Students who start the paperwork after landing sometimes wait a month on the ground, paying for accommodation and not building hours.

What Delays Applications?

• Name entered differently from the passport, including missing middle names or reversed name order
• Passport or visa images that are unreadable
• Submitting before the school has been notified, so the request sits unvalidated
• Waiting to pay the fee, since vetting does not start until payment is verified
• Delayed fingerprinting
• Prior criminal history, which requires review and may result in an ineligibility determination

Budgeting for It

The processing fee is a single consolidated charge that covers your qualifying training events for up to five years, so a student completing initial certification, instrument and multi-engine training pays one fee, not one per rating. You would only pay again if your training extends beyond the five-year validity of your determination and you need to renew. Fingerprinting may carry a separate vendor cost depending on where you are fingerprinted.

These fees are paid to TSA and its vendors, not to your flight school. No school can waive them, discount them or expedite them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Read Next

• New 2026 F-1 student visa rule explained
• F-1 visa for flight school without a degree
• Converting a foreign pilot license to FAA
• Flight training for international students

Official Sources

• TSA Flight Training Security Program portal: https://fts.tsa.dhs.gov/home
• Federal Register, Flight Training Security Program final rule (published May 1, 2024): https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/05/01/2024-08800/flight-training-security-program
• 49 CFR Part 1552, Flight Training Security Program
• FTSP help desk: FTSP.Help@tsa.dhs.gov

This article is general information, not legal or immigration advice. TSA procedures and fees change. Confirm current requirements in the FTSP portal or with our admissions team before acting.