Dubai Media CitySetup cost, licence types and visa rules
Dubai
The region's established media cluster, with production infrastructure on site.
Dubai Media City has been the region's principal media cluster for 25 years, sitting in Al Sufouh next to Dubai Internet City and Dubai Knowledge Park and connected by tram to Sheikh Zayed Road. It licenses broadcasters, publishers, advertising and marketing agencies, production houses and individual media freelancers through the GoFreelance route. What separates it from a generic services zone is physical production capacity: sound stages ranging from roughly 11,000 to 50,000 square feet sit inside the district alongside offices and boutique studios. It is the default choice for agencies and broadcasters that need to be near clients, talent and crew. Like the rest of TECOM's districts it publishes no licence pricing.
Visit Official Website"Not scored" means we found no evidence for that dimension, not that the zone scored zero. Compare zones against each other, not against 10.
How much does Dubai Media City cost?
Dubai Media City setup costs from AED 7,500 – AED 7,520, published by TECOM Group, under the Dubai Development Authority (DDA), verified 22 August 2026.
Setup cost
AED 7,500 – AED 7,520
≈ $2,055 – $2,060 · €1,875 – €1,880
One-time formation cost, as published
Published by TECOM Group, under the Dubai Development Authority (DDA), verified 22 August 2026.View the source page
USD and EUR figures are indicative conversions at AED 3.65/USD and AED 4.00/EUR. Only the AED figure is a published price.
What this figure covers, and what it leaves out
GoFreelance freelance licence, valid in Dubai Media City. AED 7,500/yr per gofreelance.ae headline; AED 7,520 per dmc.ae's own FAQ. Licence only, EXCLUDES visa. Establishment Card AED 2,000 required before an employment visa; visa AED 4,600 (1 year) / AED 5,042 (2 years). TECOM notes visa and establishment card fees are subject to change.
Sourcing notes (checked 22 August 2026)
Scope limit: freelance permit for an individual, not a corporate licence. DMC publishes no price for a company licence, office, studio or sound stage. The AED 7,500 vs AED 7,520 conflict is between two official TECOM properties and should be resolved by phone before publishing a single headline number. RENEWAL BASIS: Stated as renewable annually; no renewal price published.
What licence types does Dubai Media City issue?
Dubai Media City publishes 3 licence types: Commercial licence, Freelance licence (GoFreelance) and Media/production commercial licences. The licence you hold sets which activities you may carry out, and in most zones it also drives the visa allocation and the workspace you are required to take.
Permitted activities
What office options does Dubai Media City offer?
Dubai Media City publishes 8 workspace options: Office, Boutique studio, D/Quarters co-working, In5 centre, Light industrial unit, Warehouse, Sound stage, Retail. Dubai Media City requires a physical presence in the zone, so the workspace cost is part of the real entry price rather than an optional extra.
Published workspace options: Office, Boutique studio, D/Quarters co-working, In5 centre, Light industrial unit, Warehouse, Sound stage, Retail. Important: a virtual address or flexi-desk satisfies the free zone's own licensing rule but is a separate question from the adequate-substance test that a Qualifying Free Zone Person must meet to claim the 0% Corporate Tax rate.
Tax and compliance at Dubai Media City
Dubai Media City publishes no blanket audit obligation of its own. Separately, every free zone company in the UAE falls under Federal Decree-Law 47 of 2022: the 0% rate applies only to the qualifying income of a Qualifying Free Zone Person, and a QFZP must file audited accounts at any revenue under Ministerial Decision 84 of 2025. Non-qualifying income is taxed at 9%.
- Regulatory authority
- TECOM Group, under the Dubai Development Authority (DDA) (DDA)
- Zone-level audit requirement
- Not published as a blanket requirement
Tax treatment the authority publishes
- 0% Corporate Tax on Qualifying Income for a Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP) - conditional, not automatic
- 9% Corporate Tax on any income that is not Qualifying Income; the AED 375,000 zero-rate band does not apply to a QFZP
- 0% personal income tax in the UAE
- 100% repatriation of capital and profits, with no UAE exchange controls
- QFZP status requires adequate free zone substance, arm's length pricing, transfer pricing documentation, audited accounts and non-qualifying revenue within the de minimis limit (lower of AED 5,000,000 or 5% of revenue)
- Small Business Relief is NOT available to a Qualifying Free Zone Person
Substance requirements
Federal position (applies to every UAE free zone): to claim the 0% Qualifying Free Zone Person rate a company must maintain adequate substance in the free zone - core income-generating activity carried out there, plus adequate assets, an adequate number of qualified full-time employees and adequate operating expenditure relative to that activity (Cabinet Decision No. 100 of 2023, Art. 8). Under Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025 every Qualifying Free Zone Person must prepare audited financial statements regardless of revenue; a free zone company that is not a QFZP needs audited accounts only where revenue exceeds AED 50,000,000. Economic Substance Regulations notifications and reports were cancelled for financial years ending after 31 December 2022 by Cabinet Decision No. 98 of 2024, so ESR is no longer a live annual filing. UBO disclosure under Cabinet Decision No. 109 of 2023 does still apply. Zone-level audit position: the research found only conditional evidence for this zone (an approved-auditor programme or published exemption rules) and no directly quoted primary regulation. The audit_required flag is therefore recorded as false because the field cannot express 'conditional' - it does not mean an audit is never required here. The federal rules above apply in any case.
Customs treatment
This zone does not appear on the compiled VAT Designated Zone list and was not explicitly excluded from it, so its Designated Zone status is recorded as unknown rather than as 'no'. Goods held inside a customs-controlled free zone area are generally not subject to UAE customs duty until they enter the mainland, at which point 5% import VAT and any applicable duty arise. Verify Designated Zone status with the FTA before relying on it for goods movements.
Profit repatriation
The UAE imposes no exchange controls and no restrictions on repatriating capital or profits from a free zone company, and there is no personal income tax on distributions to individuals. Corporate Tax is assessed on the company, not on the remittance.
Ownership
The ownership position was not confirmed against an official source for this zone during research. UAE free zones generally permit 100% foreign ownership, but treat that as unverified here rather than as a published fact.
- Local partner
- Not required
Why there is no banking section
We publish no per-zone bank lists, acceptance rates or account-opening timelines, here or anywhere else on the site. No bank and no regulator publishes that data by free zone. Account opening is a decision each bank makes on your shareholders and your activity — it is not a property of the zone you register in, and any site that scores it per zone is inventing a fact.
Who Dubai Media City suits
Every line below is a restatement of something Dubai Media City publishes, not a recommendation we were paid to make. We are not a reseller for any zone on this site, which is why the right-hand column exists at all.
Consider it if
- You want 100% foreign ownership with no local partner.
- Entry price is the deciding factor: the published setup cost is AED 7,500 – AED 7,520.
- You want a price you can check against the authority's own page before you commit.
- Your activity spans more than one licence category — 3 are published.
Don't pick this if
- You are not ready to lease space: a physical presence in the zone is required.
Key benefits, as Dubai Media City states them
These are the selling points the authority publishes about itself. We reproduce them; we do not endorse them.
Common questions about Dubai Media City
How much does it cost to set up in Dubai Media City?
Dubai Media City setup costs from AED 7,500 – AED 7,520, published by TECOM Group, under the Dubai Development Authority (DDA), verified 22 August 2026. GoFreelance freelance licence, valid in Dubai Media City. AED 7,500/yr per gofreelance.ae headline; AED 7,520 per dmc.ae's own FAQ. Licence only, EXCLUDES visa. Establishment Card AED 2,000 required before an employment visa; visa AED 4,600 (1 year) / AED 5,042 (2 years). TECOM notes visa and establishment card fees are subject to change.
What licence types does Dubai Media City issue?
Dubai Media City publishes 3 licence types: Commercial licence, Freelance licence (GoFreelance) and Media/production commercial licences.
Can a foreign investor own 100% of a company in Dubai Media City?
The ownership position was not confirmed against an official source for this zone during research. UAE free zones generally permit 100% foreign ownership, but treat that as unverified here rather than as a published fact.
What tax treatment applies to a Dubai Media City company?
Dubai Media City publishes the following: 0% Corporate Tax on Qualifying Income for a Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP) - conditional, not automatic, 9% Corporate Tax on any income that is not Qualifying Income; the AED 375,000 zero-rate band does not apply to a QFZP, 0% personal income tax in the UAE, 100% repatriation of capital and profits, with no UAE exchange controls, QFZP status requires adequate free zone substance, arm's length pricing, transfer pricing documentation, audited accounts and non-qualifying revenue within the de minimis limit (lower of AED 5,000,000 or 5% of revenue) and Small Business Relief is NOT available to a Qualifying Free Zone Person. The 0% federal rate applies only to the qualifying income of a Qualifying Free Zone Person; other income is taxed at 9%.
Where is Dubai Media City located?
Dubai Media City is a free zone in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Compare Dubai Media City against
- d3 - Dubai Design DistrictAlso in Dubai · AED 7,500 – AED 7,520
- DAFZA - Dubai Airport FreezoneAlso in Dubai · AED 7,500
- Dubai Internet CityAlso in Dubai · AED 7,500 – AED 7,520
- Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis)Similar published setup cost · AED 6,600
- Masdar City Free ZoneSimilar published setup cost · AED 7,000
Guides that cover Dubai and this zone's situation
- 0% Free Zone Corporate Tax: The Eight QFZP Conditions as a Checklist
Free zone 0% corporate tax has eight conditions, and all must be met. The full checklist, including the audit rule with no revenue threshold.
- Ministerial Decision 229 of 2025: Qualifying Activities, and Why MD 265 Content Is Stale
Ministerial Decision 229 of 2025 repealed MD 265 of 2023 retroactively from June 2023. The current qualifying activities list and what expanded.
- The QFZP De Minimis Rule, With a Worked Example (5% or AED 5m)
Non-qualifying revenue must stay under the lower of AED 5m or 5% of total revenue. Two worked examples and what happens if you breach it.
Cost data for Dubai Media City was last checked against TECOM Group, under the Dubai Development Authority (DDA)'s own site on 22 August 2026. Figures are reproduced in the currency the authority publishes them in, and are never converted, averaged or estimated. We do not charge to be listed, to be listed accurately, or to be ranked. If something here is wrong or out of date, send us the page that says so and we will correct it and re-date the record.