Finger Letter and Residence Period Calculation

Hello Patricia

My name is Ahmed and i am living in Barcelona for 3 years . I am a little bit confused about the situation .
I am 20 years old now . I was 17 when i came to spain . The confusion is

My dad applied for FAMILIAR REGUPARENTE in 2006 , In 2007 , the immigration office in BARCELONA passed our papers and issued the letters ,so called finger letters ( The paper with which , you go to the Police office and give your finger prints etc..) .
We got those letters plus some other documents and we submitted our case in the embassy back in my country . The embassy took too long ,and in 2009 , they issued us the visa .
When we came here , as my father had permanent residence(expiring in 2012 ) , they issued us residence cards for 3 years (expiring on the same dates as of my father)
As those cards expired in May 2012 , now they renewed our cards with the status LARGA DURACION .

The point is , IN this case , the residence period would be calculated , by considering the first finger letters which were issued in 2007 !! mean to say that as till 2012 , my residence years would be calculated as 05 years because of the reason that first finger letters were issued in 2007 ??? Because of this , They gave me LARGA DURACION category this year .!!!!

Awaiting for your response

Regards .

Hello,

First of all, congratulations for your Larga Duracion residence permit.

Yes, if we asume they have taken the date of the resolution to calculate the number of years of legal residency, that would be the cause of the Larga Duracion status you have been granted, however, I believe this was not the reason; they have granted the Larga Duracion as you have acquired the same permit validity as your father. I would need to check the file before comfirming this.

The usual process is that the permit´s validiy starts once your card has been issued ( after fingerprints have been taken at the Police Station once you have entered Spain with the corresponding visa), and not once the permit has been resolved.

You can check this information on the informative sheet Number 12 of the Immigration section of the Ministry of Home Affairs´s website.

Regards,