Work Permit and Residence in Spain

Hello,

I would like to check the following:

1- I have an employment offer in a Spanish Company, therefore how much time is needed to obtain a Work Permit?
2- Once i have obtained a work permit, i will have to apply for residence visa, right??
3- What type of residence will i get and for how long it is valid?
4- What is the procedure to turn my residence that is obtained due to work permit into permanent residence? and how much time i need to become elligible for citizenship?

I am Lebanese.

Thanks Alot

Dear Sir,

If you have got a job offer in Spain, your employer must make arrangements to help you apply for a salaried work and residence permit. Once your employer has prepared all the documentation, he must file it at the Immigration Office and then once approved ( after about 6 months ) , you will be asked to go to the Spanish Consular office to collect the visa to enter Spain and formalize the residence card application at the Police Station of the town where you will be residing in Spain. The card you will get will be a temporary one, with one year validity, subject to be renewed after that year if the employment conditions still exist. You will be eligible for the permanent residence card after five years of legal residency.

Please be aware that salaried work and residence permit applications are difficult to be approved nowadays as the Unemployment rate in Spain is critical so those permits are granted in very exceptional situations where the job position is considered to be of difficult cover and there are no unemployed professionals in Spain to take on those positions; for instance for professions on demand like professional sportspeople or Ship/ Maritime Industry and Engineering. If your job position is not included in this list, you may find it hard to have your application approved, as one of the required documents is a certificate issued by the Employment office indicating there are no umemployed workers in Spain ready to take the position you have been offered, and based on the current situation that is very unlikely. There are exceptions to get around that requirement; for instance in the event you were offered a trusted corporate role in the company. You can check these exceptions here.

Regards,