riverrock83, I'm soooooooo very sorry that my free advice and licensing clarification has not been to your total satisfaction.....
Anyway, wb9999 et al., fresh from the CAA:
An IMCR first obtained prior to 8th April 2014 can be added in the form of an EASA Instrument Rating with restrictions (IR(R)) to a UK-issued Part-FCL licence at any time in the future, including after 8th April 2014. This is in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation 1178/2011
It is only IMCRs first obtained from 8th April 2014 onwards that cannot be added to Part-FCL licences as to do so would not be the preservation of a privilege obtained before the aircrew regulation became mandatory (in this particular aspect).
It is implicit in the CAP 804 text that the IR(R) can be added to a Part-FCL licence issued after 17 September as Part-FCL licences were not issued before that date.
The CAA has also agreed to amend the relevant text in the next amendment to CAP 804 to make this completely clear.
cessna24, you asked:
My IMC lapsed in June this year. How long have I got to renew it before I loose it for good?
As you will hopefully have deduced from the CAA's response and from CAP 804, if you
ever held IMCR privileges before 8 Apr 2014, even if they lapsed years ago you will still be able to renew them on a Part-FCL licence issued (or upon conversion) at any time in the future. So if they lapsed 20 years ago and you waited until 2020 to renew them, you would simply follow the same renewal process as outlined in CAP 804.
However, to exercise IMCR privileges on an EASA aeroplane after 8 Apr 2014, you will need to have converted a JAR-FCL licence (or UK non-JAR-FCL licence) to a Part-FCL licence which includes the new term IR (Restricted).