Adding a rating - current CAA delays?

[Desert Strip Basher]

When adding a rating to your licence, with all the EASA stuff ongoing, what is the typical turnaround people are experiencing with the CAA at present?

[hegemon88]

Dear OP, I can offer some advice on the IMC/IR(R) rating as had it added to my licence fairly recently. The advice is: expect delays. At least a week on top of the usual turnaround times will be required, as all the documentation now needs to go through the Department for Transport, due to some legislation issues which manifested themselves post 8 April 2014. That won't apply to any rating other than IMC/IR(R).

Apart from that they seemed to be sticking to their 10-day turnaround time, in spite of a wave of EASA conversion applications (i.e. I had my licence back after 17 or 18 working days, don't remember exactly).

Hope that helps,


/h88

[BackPacker]

Nine months in my case.

My IMC rating addition triggered an EASA conversion, which triggered the addition of an aerobatics rating, a SOLI request to transfer my medical from NL to UK and some major confusion about my LPE (which I gained and registered in 2011 already but the CAA refused to honor).

Answers to e-mails took 40 days on average and that was only after sending two reminder e-mails. Licence issue when everything was sorted took 30 days on average. (They had to issue my new licence twice since they forgot to include the aeros rating on the first attempt.)

The only advice I can give you is to get all your ducks in a row before you submit anything at all. Preferably let someone who knows these matters check that everything is complete. Include a cover letter detailing what you want them to do. Include payment forms but don't fill in the amount fields - you'll probably get it wrong and if the field is blank, the CAA can insert the correct amount.

And make sure you have a confirmed LPE 6 on file with the CAA, or include an 1199 form with the application. Heck, you may want to include an 1199 form even if the CAA has an LPE 6 on file, since they just might refuse your earlier LPE 6 without notice and without explanation. As they did in my case.

On the other hand, what I understand is that the customer desk at Gatwick has improved greatly. If you've got all the paperwork sorted they seem to provide great service, and you may be able to walk out with your new licence in hand, in a few hours. But - as always - you have to have all your ducks in a row before walking through the door.

[Jim59]

I have been waiting for a LALP for nine weeks and a bit so far.