Article 4 — General provisions for validation of licences

Regulation (EU) 2020/723

1. A competent authority of a Member State may validate a pilot licence issued by a third country in compliance with the requirements of Annex 1 to the Chicago Convention.

2. For the purposes of the provisions set out in this Regulation, the competent authority of the Member State shall be the following:

(a) for pilots residing within the territory of the Union — a competent authority of the Member State of a place where a pilot resides or is established;

(b) for pilots not residing in the territory of the Union — a competent authority of the Member State where the operator for which they are flying or intend to fly has its principal place of business, or where the aircraft on which they are flying or intend to fly is registered.

3. The validation of a licence shall have a validity period, which does not exceed one year, and its privileges shall only be exercised as long as the licence remains valid.

The competent authority that validated the licence may extend the validity only once and only by a maximum of one year, if during the validity period the pilot has applied for a licence in accordance with Annex I (Part-FCL) to Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 or is undergoing training for the issuance of such a licence. In that last case, the extension shall cover the period of time necessary for the licence to be issued in accordance with Annex I (Part-FCL) to Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011.

4. The holders of a licence validated by a Member State shall exercise their privileges in accordance with the requirements stated in Annex I (Part-FCL) to Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011.

Article 5 — Pilot licences for commercial air transport and other commercial activities

Regulation (EU) 2020/723

For the validation of pilot licences for commercial air transport and other commercial activities, the holders shall comply with the following requirements, as applicable, for the privileges sought:

(a) complete, as a skill test, the type or class rating revalidation requirements of Annex I (Part-FCL) to Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011, as relevant to the privileges of the licence held;

(b) demonstrate knowledge of the relevant parts of the operational requirements and Annex I (Part-FCL) to Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011;

(c) demonstrate language proficiency in accordance with Point FCL.055 of Annex I (Part-FCL) to Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011;

(d) hold a valid Class 1 medical certificate, issued in accordance with Annex IV (Part-MED) to Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011;

(e) in the case of aeroplanes, in addition to the requirements in points (a) to (d), comply with the experience requirements set out in table 1 in the Annex to this Regulation;

(f) in the case of helicopters, in addition to the requirements in points (a) to (d), comply with the experience requirements set out in table 2 in the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 6 — Pilot licences for non-commercial activities with an instrument rating

Regulation (EU) 2020/723

For the validation of private pilot licences with an instrument rating, or Commercial Pilot Licences (‘CPL’) and Airline Transport Pilot Licences (‘ATPL’) with an instrument rating where the pilot intends only to exercise private pilot privileges, holders shall comply with all of the following requirements:

(a) complete the skill test for instrument rating and the type or class ratings relevant to the privileges of the licence held, in accordance with Appendix 7 and Appendix 9 of Annex I (Part‑FCL) to Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011;

(b) demonstrate knowledge of Air Law, Aeronautical Weather Codes, Flight Planning and Performance (IR) and Human Performance;

(c) demonstrate language proficiency in accordance with FCL.055 of Annex I (Part‑FCL) to Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011;

(d) hold at least a valid Class 2 medical certificate issued in accordance with Annex 1 to the Chicago Convention;

(e) have a minimum experience of at least 100 hours of instrument flight time as pilot in command (‘PIC’) in the relevant category of aircraft.

Article 7 — Pilot licences for non-commercial activities without an instrument rating

Regulation (EU) 2020/723

For the validation of private pilot licences, or CPL and ATPL licences without an instrument rating where the pilot intends only to exercise private pilot privileges, holders shall comply with all of the following requirements:

(a) demonstrate knowledge of Air Law and Human Performance;

(b) pass the private pilot licence (‘PPL’) skill test as set out in point FCL.235 of Annex I (Part‑FCL) to Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011;

(c) fulfil the relevant requirements of Subpart H of Annex I (Part‑FCL) to Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011, for the issuance of a type or class rating as relevant to the privileges of the licence held;

(d) hold at least a Class 2 medical certificate issued in accordance with Annex 1 to the Chicago Convention;

(e) demonstrate language proficiency in accordance with FCL.055 of Annex I (Part‑FCL) to Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011;

(f) have a minimum experience of at least 100 hours as pilot in the relevant category of aircraft.

Article 8 — Validation of pilot licences for specific tasks of limited duration

Regulation (EU) 2020/723

1. Notwithstanding the provisions of the Articles above, in the case of manufacturer flights, a competent authority of a Member State may accept a licence issued in accordance with Annex 1 to the Chicago Convention by a third country for a maximum of 12 months for specific tasks of limited duration, such as instruction flights for initial entry into service, demonstration, ferry or test flights, provided that the applicant complies with the following requirements:

(a) holds an appropriate licence and medical certificate and associated ratings or qualifications issued in accordance with Annex 1 to the Chicago Convention;

(b) is employed, directly or indirectly, by an aircraft manufacturer or by an aviation authority.

In this case, the privileges of the holder shall be limited by the competent authority to performing flight instruction and testing for initial issue of type ratings, the supervision of initial line flying by the operators’ pilots, delivery or ferry flights, initial line flying, flight demonstrations or test flights, as appropriate to the tasks foreseen under this paragraph.

2. By way of derogation from Articles 4 to 7, a competent authority of a Member States may, for competition flights or display flights of limited duration, validate a licence issued by a third country allowing the holder to exercise the privileges of a PPL as specified in Annex I (Part‑FCL) to Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011, a Balloon Pilot Licence (BPL) as specified in Annex III (Part‑BFCL) to Regulation (EU) 2018/395 or an Sailplane Pilot Licence (SPL) as specified in Annex III (Part-SFCL) to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1976, provided that all of the following requirements are complied with:

(a) prior to the event, the organiser of the competition or display flights provides the competent authority with adequate evidence on how it will ensure that the pilot will be familiarised with the relevant safety information and manage any risk associated with the flights;

(b) the applicant holds an appropriate licence and medical certificate and associated ratings or qualifications issued in accordance with Annex 1 to the Chicago Convention.

3. By way of derogation from the provisions of Articles 4 to 7, a competent authority of a Member State may validate a licence which is equivalent to one of those referred to in paragraph 2 and issued in compliance with the requirements of Annex 1 to the Chicago Convention by a third country for a maximum of 28 days per calendar year for specific non-commercial tasks, provided that the applicant complies with all of the following requirements:

(a) holds an appropriate licence and medical certificate and associated ratings or qualifications issued in accordance with Annex 1 to the Chicago Convention;

(b) has completed at least one acclimatisation flight with a qualified instructor prior to carrying out the specific tasks of limited duration.