Renew MEIR before converting license to IAA or after?

[tjemo]

Hey guys!

I'm fortunate enough to have been accepted into the Ryanair program.

Ryanair says:

You will need an IAA licence and as the conversion can take some time you will need to begin the process as soon as possible. You will find details of how to do this on the IAA website - http://www.iaa.ie/personnel-licensing

AND

“Your MEIR must be valid on Day 1 (February 3th) of your Introduction course – your MEP rating does not need to be valid.”

Problem is, my ME IR is valid untill the 1st of February. According to Dutch rules I can renew it 3 months before it's being expired. 1st renewal I did in a simulator so next renewal should be actual flight.

Now my question is, what should I do?

-Should I already convert my license to an IAA one since it'll take a while before it's converted? Then what should I do when my ME/IR expires?

-Should I wait, and do an actual flight and THEN convert my license to an IAA license (which takes a while... and I'm afraid I don't get the license on time)

It's a bit confusing for me. I hope I explained the situation clearly.

[Level Attitude]

According to Dutch rules I can renew it 3 months before it's being expired

Since you currently have a valid ME IR then it is a Revalidation, not a Renewal.

No such thing as Dutch rules - it's all EASA now.

A Revalidation taken 90 days prior to expiry will give a Rating valid for
one year from the expiry date of the current Rating.

A Revalidation taken at any other time will give a Rating valid for one year
from the end of the month in which the test is taken.

If I was you I would Revalidate my ME IR and MEP together at the beginning
of September - both will then be valid until end of September 2014.

Then you would have over four months left to convert to an IAA Licence.

[FltDirector]

What if for example you start TR on 1 April and your ME/IR expires on 31 April (before finishing the TR). Is it necessary to revalidate the ME/IR before the start of the TR?

[FltDirector]

Disregard my last post, already received an answer from the CAA. MEIR only needs to be valid at the start of the TQ.