Stuartforrest, your FAR quote relates purely to the "issue" of your licence. No show of proficiency is required to get the thing issued.
However, you should refer to FAR 61.56(c) which confirms the requirement for a BFR prior to being able to exercise the licence.
The long and the short of that is that if you find yourself in a position where you are depending on your FAA ticket (N-reg aircraft in France for example), your BFR must be current, in addition to meeting all the requirements for your underlying licence.
Last edited by 2Donkeys; 14th Jan 2005 at 06:41.