Candidates must obtain AFSP approval for the following three training events:
But there still seems some ambiguity.
If the application doesn't involve training, then is it still a "training event"? i.e. does the TSA approval only cover the training aspect?
Admittedly if you fail the checkride, you're back to square one.
And you may still need the foreign licence verification to be presented at the checkride (that was the case when I did my IR, but may not be in this case)