State Franchise Tax Board Will Issue ‘Residency Certifications’ to Aliens

In an effort to help aliens seeking amnesty under the new immigration law, the state Franchise Tax Board voted Tuesday to issue “residency certifications” to those who have paid state taxes.

“This is an area in which we have special responsibility because of the large number of people expected to apply for the amnesty program in California,” said Conway Collis, a member of the board.

Under the plan, taxpayers can submit requests for certification to the Franchise Tax Board by giving their Social Security number and name and paying a fee not to exceed $5. The Social Security number and name will be run through a special computer program that will check and verify tax filings for the past five years. A computer notice, which can be used to verify residency, then will be mailed to the taxpayer.

The board estimated that it can process such a request in less than four weeks. This is in sharp contrast to the six to nine months that the federal Internal Revenue Service takes to process a similar request, Collis said.

Under the new immigration law, state tax returns can be used in lieu of federal tax records to show that applicants have been residing in the United States.