Originally Posted by
custardpsc
You also don't need the instructors endorsement for the check ride if you have the equivant grade of foreign licence.
Do you have any reference for this? No endorsement is required for anyone taking an ATP check ride. But FAR 103 for the PVT and 123 for the commercial both list an endorsement requirement. And the 8900.1 Inspector Handbook lists “Ensure that the flight instructor has signed the endorsement block no more than 60 days before the application was submitted” as one of the procedures to complete before the checkride for both PVT and commercial applicants. Neither the regs or the 8900.1 show any wavier for foreign license holders.