PA28,
The requirements for modular CPL license issue are 200 hours, including 100 hours of PIC. That means that, if you're going to apply with the minimum time, you can still have up to 100 hours of dual.
The PPL is a 45-hour course, of which at least 10 hours must be solo, leaving 35 hours of dual. The CPL is a 25 hour course. That's 60 hours of dual. Since no one gets through in minimum times, we'll increase that to, say, 80 hours. That still gives you 20 hours of optional extra dual, without having to go over the 200 hour minimum.
The IMC course is only 15 hours - let's say that it takes you 20 hours, so it will fit into your hour-building quite nicely unless it takes an unusually long time to get either your PPL, IMC or CPL.
P1,
There is nothing difficult about flying out of the country - but it's a mental barrier which is nice to overcome (and which you'll have to overcome if you're going to fly airliners!) Why not do it once, either with an instructor, or as a passenger with a pilot who's done it before? If you're hiring a club aircraft, you may find that your club requires you to do it with an instructor the first time in any case.
What you'll find is that the flying is no different to any other flying. All the hard work needs to be done on the ground, before you go - and that basically involves reading up on customs, immigration, special branch and flight plan requirements (it's all in Pooleys, except for how to file a flight plan which is in one of the CAA Safety Sense leaflets), and learning to read foreign charts (not much different to our charts - just look at the key for anything you don't recognise).
FFF
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