Piper...have had to hold off from answering this - as things were happening, but....
There is a little known fact - that no doubt many people will dispute....especially as it is not in writing anywhere that I can find......but........
It seems that JAA land has actually woken up and agreed that most of the JAA things are actually European and not National.
Everything WAS as posted above. All qualifications and requirements had to be done under any one member state - everything, done by one country.
First change, I believe, was the medical. You can now get a medical in any JAA state and it is valid for training and application purposes in any member state - great news for the mainland Europeans that come out to Florida to train with a UK registered FTO.
Now it has progressed to flight training. Theory examinations for PROFESSIONAL licences can be done in one state - with the flying done under another state. Maybe do the ATPL writtens in Holland and the flying at a UK FTO in the USA - or anywhere with sunshine.
This does not apply to written exams for PPL - as they are more National. The PPL writtens need to be done in the member state that you intend to apply to for a licence - the flying, however, can be done under a different state PROVIDED there is an "inter-state agreement" and the FTO you go to is JAA approved.
Have a look at this JAA document (http://www.jaa.nl/licensing/licensing_longterm_frame.html) - but I have to admit that I haven't looked at it yet, I've only been told about it.
There is a lot more to this - but I'm not going to explain it all - especially as all you need to know is that you can move to another state IF THEY AGREE. I'm advised that Belgium gets a bit sticky about it - but Holland welcomes it with open arms.
If you want to transfer to another state to finish the FLYING part of your UK issued PPL then drop a line to
[email protected] and tell him EXACTLY what you have done so far, and what you believe you still need to do.
Best of luck with the flying - and do expect that many people will tell you that this information is incorrect. To be honest - if I had first heard it through a medium such as Pprune I would not have believed it either (and I, more than most, should not say that).