Yes, indeed, I was referring to a licence validation. It's only valid for a year.
I can only second what Irv says about many schools not understanding their own system. Lanseria Flight Centre told me the system had recently changed and blamed the SA CAA for the confusion and the reason why I had to do the full online SA PPL Air Law test.
The thing Irv hasn't mentioned is the school's attitude to the flight test. Some places aren't as well organised as others and your flight test could end up as 5 hours flying time! I had an obligatory 'orientation flight' lasting an hour and a quarter, followed by a 'general handling flight' of an hour and a half, and a final 'navigation flight' of over 2 hours!
I should add that I was a low-houred PPL holder, but I flew very nicely and had no troubles whatsoever, so it was not as though I needed extra time in the air to prove my abilities! I would suggest following Irv's advice carefully and ensure the place you do the validation knows the system and isn't out to rip you off.
