NAA Licensing Comparison - your contributions are needed

EDIT from my post above: issuance fees from Swiss OFAC is 380 CHF (approx 350 €)

Finished my SOLI from UK to Switzerland.

Started on December 10th, received an email from Swiss OFAC that my licence was ready on January 12th.
Sent them my UK licence and got the Swiss one a week later in my mailbox.

So far, I’ve only paid fees to the CAA (SOLIout process fees + medical records sending fees).

Will see how things will go when I’ll need to add new ratings or other stuffs, but so far glad with how the Swiss managed things

Czechia:
The authority is called ÚCL (Úřad pro civilní letectví) in Czech and CAA in English, the site is www.caa.cz
Prices are low: aircraft registration 3000 CZK; license issue 1000 CZK, reissue 100 CZK if changing particulars or replacing a lost one, free if adding a rating; theoretical tests 5000 CZK for the full set; practical test by CAA examiner 500 CZK (!) (1 EUR ≈ 26 CZK)
Customer service: most transactions are available while you wait (no extra fee). Generally friendly. Telephone and e-mail enquiries possible, full telephone directory available on the web.
Revalidation: license endorsed directly by the examiner, same for renewals if expired by less than 3 years and the license still contains the rating
Languages: Czech and English in most cases. Theoretical tests in English are worded better than in Czech :-)
Industry examiners may conduct practical tests for initial issue of CPL and IR.
No aggressive prosecution of airspace busts (an apology to the ATC over the telephone may often suffice).

Done.

For the Netherlands: Licensing is split between the ILenT (a branch of the government) and KIWA (a private company).

ILenT handles all medicals, plus the licenses that were previously issued by the KNVvL, such as gliders and balloons. KIWA handles PPL(A) and up. This leads to some weird situations, especially if you hold both a GPL and a PPL. As far as medicals is concerned, ILenT checks your medical and then sends a “notice of no objection” or something to KIWA, so that they can issue your license.

Both organisations are fairly pleasant to work with. Reasonably quick to respond, fluent in both English and Dutch. The only real issue is that KIWA is considered extremely expensive: The initial issue of a PPL/CPL is well over 600 euros. And the transfer of an EASA license to KIWA is considered an initial issue. Other KIWA prices are similarly high.

Add this to the CAA permission form for allowing them to release my details to KIWA (45 UKP) and sending my medical info by email to ILenT (100-something UKP) and the total cost of my SOLI transfer from the UK to NL will run in the neighbourhood of 800 euros. For zero additional privileges or benefit. Thank you Boris.

(Edited: KIWA does print your license on a proper light 150-or-so gr. cardboard with some embossed, coloured and faux-silver inlaid logos, instead of the laser printed wad of paper that you get from the CAA. I fly from Rotterdam and regularly need to get through security by showing my license. They are more likely to let me through on my Glider Pilots License than on my UK CAA-issued PPL. They just don’t take that bit of paper seriously.)

For the IAA:

Price: Comparable to the UK CAA, check IAA fees order (Latest SI 523 of 2015).
Residency not required.
Customer service very good. Emails answered quickly. Licensing are working from home and dealing with as much as they can. They’ve received a lot of SOLI in requests increasing workload. Licensing will answer your questions, or get an answer and come back to you. Email best, limited access by telephone.
Revalidations can be signed by an FI/FE. Will only accept instructors with FCL.945 issued by the IAA (eg. a UK FI with FCL.945 cannot sign revalidation by experience in an Irish licence). Renewals must always be endorsed by the IAA regardless of the rating/certificate in question. [note]
Language: English/Gaelic
Medical: EASA
Aircraft: EASA
Examiners: EASA (subject to test notification and minimum notification periods)
Other: Allows industry examiners to conduct initial CPL/IR tests

In general a very pragmatic NAA with helpful staff. If anyone is in need of an Irish EASA examiner, please get in touch. I’m based in the UK.

[note] There is a way around this, but involves being an IAA ATO with agreed minimum training for renewals.

To fill a bit your spreadsheet about france
Re validation is very easy, FI sign your licence with a number you get from a dedicated website. Sigbel. On this website you have your pilot life step by step.
That part is simple and efficient. It is free.
About medical, you are obliged to go to an aeronautical doctor. There is an official list.
after 40 years old it I must be each two years and after 50 years old it is once a year with a électrocardiogram less than two years old. This part is boring.
This is valid even for LAPL…
I don’t know what is requested for foreigners
Language is not a French strength but for aeronautical matter it is easy to find help.

rschris wrote:

it seems that … Ireland [is] not accepting any SOLI transfer anymore.

The IAA should continue accepting applications made until 1st Jan.

I think that was specific place/time, their office was to be moved shortly in the next months and not a lot of people were happy about it, so maybe reflected in the customer experience, to be fair I did not have any issues elsewhere with FAA