# About the team: who writes New to Dubai and where to check the facts > Who writes New to Dubai, what our guides are based on, which official bodies to check with yourself, and how we choose what to name. Source: https://newdubai.life/articles/about-the-team/ Updated: 2026-10-22 New to Dubai is a guide to settling into Dubai, written by the NTD Team: people who live here and have sorted out their own visas, apartments, DEWA and SIM cards. Our guides are based on our own experience, so always check the details with the official source before you act. This page covers who we are, what we have been through, which official bodies to check with and how we decide what to name. If a term is new to you, the [Glossary and acronyms](https://newdubai.life/articles/glossary-and-acronyms/) page explains it. ## Who the NTD Team is The NTD Team is a group of people who moved to Dubai and set up life here. One of us has lived here for around 15 years. That is long enough to watch plenty of processes change. It is also why we keep telling you to double-check. Something that worked for us a few years ago may work differently now. We write as one team, not under individual names. Each guide follows the order most people actually set up in, and that is the order we followed ourselves. ## What we have been through: visas and driving Our visas came through different routes. If you are employed, the company PRO (the staff member who deals with government paperwork) usually handles most of it. If you are self-employed, the company that set up your business usually does the same. Either way, someone tends to guide you through the steps. For the visa medical test, most of us go to the medical testing centre at Ibn Battuta Mall. Go early. In 15 years there, one of us has never waited more than 30 minutes. Some of us swapped a home driving licence straight for a UAE one, because our country allowed it. Others had to take lessons. One member needed three attempts at the road test. They felt they drove well on the tests they failed, and made a couple of mistakes on the day they passed. So expect to fail at least once, and be pleasantly surprised if you don't. Arguing with the examiner won't change the result, so just book another test. ## What we have been through: home, bills and banking Most people we know found their home by staying in an apartment hotel for a couple of weeks first. That gave them time to look round different neighbourhoods before signing a tenancy contract. In our own moves, DEWA took 1 to 3 days to switch the power on. Opening a bank account needed an Emirates ID, and it can take longer than you expect. Be ready to redo your signature several times. We have made mistakes too. A free zone rejected one member's visa photo three times, so the agency handling it used AI to touch it up. The photo passed, but it confused the biometric checks at government offices, and it had to be fixed before she could fly. Use only real, unedited photos for any ID, and don't let anyone talk you into anything else. Our [visa guides](https://newdubai.life/topics/visas/) cover the rest of that process. ## What our guides are based on Our guides come from personal experience: ours and that of people we know here. Nobody checks them line by line against official sources. We would rather tell you that than pretend otherwise. Experience is useful, but it is not the final word. Things change quickly in Dubai, and what happened to us may not happen to you. That is our main advice to you as well. Talk to people who have lived here and hear what they think. Don't treat it as fact, though. Get a second opinion, then confirm with the official source, especially for visas, where procedures change from time to time. ## Official places to check for yourself Almost every step of setting up involves a government body or an official provider. These are the ones that come up most across our guides. Use their own websites and apps to confirm anything that matters. If what someone tells you doesn't match what these bodies say, go with the official source. People sometimes tell you what you want to hear so they don't have to deal with questions, and that includes employers' PROs. - GDRFA Dubai (General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs), for residence visas and checking your visa status - ICP (Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security), which issues the Emirates ID - UAE Pass, the national digital identity app you use to sign in to government services - Dubai Land Department, for Ejari and the Dubai REST app, where your tenancy contract appears once it is registered - DEWA, for electricity and water in Dubai - RTA (Roads and Transport Authority), for Nol cards and driving licences - Dubai Police, whose app lets you check and pay traffic fines ## How we choose what to name When we name a company or app, it is because the team uses it. We all use the Breasy app for home air conditioning and follow its advice. Most of us chose Virgin for mobile because its packages have tended to include more data. The team rates Wio for banking. For parcels, we use Aramex, DHL or FedEx, not regular post. Where there are lots of decent options, we don't pick one. Prayer-times apps are a good example: there are many, and the choice is yours. We don't earn anything from the companies or apps we name. There are no affiliate links (links that pay a site when you buy something) and no sponsorship. When something is only our own experience, such as how long DEWA took or how a road test went, we say so. ## Spotted something wrong or out of date? Rules here change, and some of our guides will fall behind. We are setting up a form so you can tell us when something is wrong or out of date. Until it is ready, check the official source and trust it over us. ## What these guides can't do New to Dubai is not a government office, an agent or a visa service. We can't process applications, and nobody can promise you a visa or a rental. Never overstay a visa while you wait for an answer. If you are changing visas, phone the official body, ask friends and check everything you are told twice. Our guide to [things you need to know before living in Dubai](https://newdubai.life/articles/things-to-know/) covers more of this. Our guides are about Dubai. Other emirates have their own systems: in Sharjah, for example, electricity and water come from SEWA, not DEWA. If you are thinking of living in Sharjah and working in Dubai, be warned. The daily drive is a frustrating commute, and we don't recommend it. ## Where to start If you have just arrived, begin with [Getting started in Dubai: what to sort out first](https://newdubai.life/topics/getting-started/).