The permit is to reside in Virginia (4)
I believe the answer is:
visa
'the permit' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'is to reside in virginia' is the wordplay.
'to reside in' indicates putting letters inside.
'virginia' becomes 'va' (US state abbreviation).
'is' placed into 'va' is 'VISA'.
(Other definitions for visa that I've seen before include "Travel permit stamped in passport etc" , "ID" , "travel authority" , "Endorsement made in a passport" , "Addition to passport" .)