Foreign licence in Thailand; Conversion vs Validation
Hi everyone,
I am currently employed as a corporate pilot in Melbourne, Australia. However, I have been looking to find a job as a pilot in Thailand and move back home.
I have Thai nationality, Australian CPL+Frozen ATPL. My total time is about 470 hours with PIC time being 170 hours. My question is whether or not license conversion is an absolute must-do.
I know that it might sound stupid but hear me out. Australian CPL is recognized as a standard ICAO licence (last time I checked, it still is).
Now, I did talk to a few airline pilots I know who hold Australian pilot licences and are flying for overseas airlines.
Some of them did only licence validation before they flew for airlines overseas. Some did need to do the licence conversion but with the airline's support.
I've been looking at job ads in Thailand right now and most of them just said to have ICAO licence or something that can be recognised. But job ads like one from Thai Airways recently specified a Thai licence with a medical certificate issued by Thai Royal Air Force Hospital. It is getting a bit confusing for me as I also heard that some foreign pilots in Thailand only did licence validation to fly for airlines based in Thailand.
So, I just would like to ask if anyone has any similar experience and would be happy to share the insight, I would appreciate it.