Article 4 General provisions for validation of licences

1.A competent authority of a Member State may validate a pilot licence issued by a third country in compliance with the requirements of Annex 1 to the Chicago Convention.

2.For the purposes of the provisions set out in this Regulation, the competent authority of the Member State shall be the following:

(a)for pilots residing within the territory of the Union — a competent authority of the Member State of a place where a pilot resides or is established;

(b)for pilots not residing in the territory of the Union — a competent authority of the Member State where the operator for which they are flying or intend to fly has its principal place of business, or where the aircraft on which they are flying or intend to fly is registered.

3.The validation of a licence shall have a validity period, which does not exceed one year, and its privileges shall only be exercised as long as the licence remains valid.

The competent authority that validated the licence may extend the validity only once and only by a maximum of one year, if during the validity period the pilot has applied for a licence in accordance with Annex I (Part-FCL) to Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 or is undergoing training for the issuance of such a licence. In that last case, the extension shall cover the period of time necessary for the licence to be issued in accordance with Annex I (Part-FCL) to Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011.

4.The holders of a licence validated by a Member State shall exercise their privileges in accordance with the requirements stated in Annex I (Part-FCL) to Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011.