It should also be noted that the country in which your EASA medical records reside is the country which will issue your license. You can do the theory exams in one country (but they all must be completed in only one country), the skills test in a second country, and medical and license issue in a third.

The UK currently has a very simple and straight forward system for the theory exams. Personally I found it easiest to do the theory exams through the UK CAA. I reside in Denmark so I did my medical examinations there, and ultimately had my ATPL issued by Denmark. For the skills test (on the A320) I used a German examiner in Berlin. Denmark, and I think most countries, require five days notice of an exam if using an examiner not certified by that country. But this is SOP so it is not a big deal. It just requires the examiner to submit a copy of his or her credentials and reviewing the home nation's examination forms.

Be advised too that while officially all EASA licenses are valid in all EASA countries (e.g. my Danish EASA license can be used in Ireland with zero restrictions), some airlines do have an internal requirement to transfer licenses. easyJet requires all of their pilots to convert to a UK EASA license. SAS requires pilots to convert to a Scandinavian (Denmark, Norway or Sweden) EASA license. Current German medical privacy laws prevent the transfer of medical records to another country, so German EASA licenses cannot be directly transferred to other countries. So if you get a German issued EASA license, you will find it a little difficult to easily transfer your license to another country if your airline requires it.

Lastly be aware that many countries also require a GEN radio certificate and there is not a lot of information out there about it. Most schools that deal with ATPL theory and help with converting from ICAO ATPLs never mention the radio license as part of the process. It caught me off guard when submitting my paperwork for the license application. I do know Ireland does not require it, but every other country I looked into does, including the UK.