Originally Posted by
CargoOne
this is called license validation and not specific to FAA license holders - just any ICAO license (we leave the question of right to live and work apart here). It is normally limited to one year but can be extended sometimes. There are general provisions for that in EASA but in fact it is left to individual countries CAAs to decide. Some of the countries simply do not validate licenses doesnt matter what, some do if traceability is reasonable (=issued by first world countries only), some are quite flexible. But it is a temporary solution anyway... and validation is notmally limted not just to a country but to a specific airline who should sponsor your application. I never heard of validations made without airline sponsorship
You are on the right track but to clarify, it's not an airline sponsorship per se. I have been in contact with the UK CAA in this matter and they have indicated that they are quite happy to issue a validation whilst I study for the full license. They, however, do not issue validations for the sake of job hunting, so they require an employer to sign off on your application.