Moving to Virginia: what is different for newcomers

Virginia has its own rules for drivers, taxes and renters, plus a state office for immigrants.

Get a Virginia license within 60 days. “When you move to Virginia, you have 60 days to get a Virginia driver’s license to legally drive here,” says the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) (Virginia DMV). Non-citizen residents without proof of legal presence may get a driver privilege card if, in the past 12 months, they reported Virginia income or were claimed as a dependent on a Virginia return (Virginia DMV). Step by step: Virginia driver’s license and ID.

The state taxes income, with the same rules for all. Virginia law requires returns from virtually all residents and from nonresidents with Virginia income (Virginia Tax). If you move here during the year to become a resident, you are a part-year resident and usually file Form 760PY (Virginia Tax). Virginia has no separate rules for the federal “resident alien” and “nonresident alien” statuses, so the usual residency rules apply (Virginia Tax). More: state income taxes.

Your car is taxed locally. Under state law, a car is assessed as personal property by the locality where it is normally garaged or parked (Code of Virginia § 58.1-3511), and each county, city and town sets its own rate (Virginia Tax). Title and register it within 30 days of moving; some localities also require a local sticker or decal within 30 days, sold by the local Commissioner of the Revenue, Treasurer or Director of Finance, not by DMV (Virginia DMV). See buying and insuring a car.

A state office for newcomers. The Office of New Americans (ONA), created in 2020 and part of the Department of Social Services, connects immigrants and refugees with trusted resources (VDSS). Its Immigrant Services Program helps organizations link families to jobs, housing, health care, schools and legal pathways, and Refugee Services supports refugees and people with similar status (VDSS).

Renters get a written statement of rights. The Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act covers most residential rentals (Virginia DHCD). Landlords must offer every prospective tenant a Statement of Tenant Rights and Responsibilities, which both sides sign; it comes in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Korean and Tagalog (Virginia DHCD). See tenant rights.

Know your hurricane zone. The Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30 (Ready.gov). Virginia’s Know Your Zone program covers about 1.25 million residents in 23 coastal localities, with evacuation zones A to D; find yours at KnowYourZoneVA.org, or call 2-1-1 if you are offline (VDEM). Inland flooding causes more than half of hurricane deaths (VDEM). See our emergency preparedness guide.