Thanks for the replies. At last - a clear answer to this questiion!!!
I respond as follows:
too_sleepy - Option 3 sounds like the way to go. You are very correct - flight training europe in Jerez, although the perfect option (they do a nice CPL/ME/IR combined course for continuity) but the price tag is in excess of 27,000 euros.
Bertie Bassett - very infortmative - thanks alot!! This is exactly what I thought. Question for you - if you did the ATPL exams in UK, how did a Spanish FTO accept your UK exam passes as exemption from IR theory (before doing the CPL)?
The only way I could see doing this would be to do a CAA/JAA CPL and then adding the Spanish IR rating to the licence.
However, someone in the Spanish CAA (DGAC) told me that they could not add any ratings (IR, FI) to a JAA licence issued outside Spain, and that you would have to do the change over - this does not make any sense - have you had experience of this???
Thanks again.
jerezflyer