ICAO to EASA: Worth it

[Nav_Tech]

Hi guys,

I have a South African CPL with ME/IR and frozen ATPL and instructor rating.
Just moved to Austria, and would like to convert my license.

Unfortunately it seems that no-one can give a straight answer or process, but are very eager to start taking your money.

In any case, it seems that whatever you do, it will be prohibitively expensive. I cannot really justify spending about as much to convert my license that what I paid for most of my CPL training, when we need these funds to get settled in Europe etc.
Some advice would help a lot
1) Worth it? With only 350hrs, it seems like a fart in a thunderstorm. My previous history as a navigator counts for nothing it seems.
2) Anybody that recently completed this process that could give me some advice?
3) Timeframe: is it at all possible to do the exams in a shorter time than 8 months indicated?

Thanks for your inputs.

[paco]

If you have the time, you can do the studying in around 6 months or less - the SA exam questions are just as daft as the EASA ones so there will be some familiarity.

[Nav_Tech]

Thanks. For the short term, I can be a full-time student so studying should be able to go quickly.

[flugas]

You should also check flight schools in Hungary and Czech Republic which are just a few car hours from Vienna. Austrian schools will be significantly more expensive for the conversion.
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