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Dubai Production CitySetup cost, licence types and visa rules

Dubai

100% Ownership

Media and light-industrial district combining studios with warehousing.

Dubai Production City, formerly the International Media Production Zone, is the most industrially mixed of the TECOM media districts. Alongside publishing, media and production activity it licenses light manufacturing, logistics and wholesale trading, and it offers warehouses and light industrial units next to sound stages and boutique studios. That combination is the reason to choose it: a publisher that needs print and distribution space, or a production company that needs to store equipment and stock, can keep both under one licence and one landlord. It shares TECOM's in5 incubator and GoFreelance permit routes with the other districts. Licence pricing is not published.

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Overall Score
5.5/10
CostsNot scored
Regulation5.5
BankingNot scored
VisaNot scored

"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 Production City cost?

Dubai Production City does not publish its pricing. That is the finding, not a gap in our data.

Dubai Production City does not publish its pricing

We checked on 22 August 2026 and found no published figure. That is a finding about Dubai Production City, not a gap in our data: every "from AED …" number you will see for this zone elsewhere is a consultant's quote presented as an authority price. We would rather show you nothing than show you that.

What its site does show: Not published. Like Dubai Studio City, DPC is NOT among the four zones covered by the GoFreelance AED 7,500 licence - do not apply that figure here.

Get a quote for Dubai Production City

What licence types does Dubai Production City issue?

Dubai Production City publishes 3 licence types: Commercial licence, Freelance licence (GoFreelance) and in5 startup licence. 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.

Commercial licenceFreelance licence (GoFreelance)in5 startup licence

Permitted activities

Media, publishing and productionLight manufacturingLogistics and wholesale tradingDesign, education and retail

What office options does Dubai Production City offer?

Dubai Production City publishes 7 workspace options: Office, In5 co-working, Boutique studio, Light industrial unit, Warehouse, Retail, Sound stage. Dubai Production City requires a physical presence in the zone, so the workspace cost is part of the real entry price rather than an optional extra.

OfficeIn5 co-workingBoutique studioLight industrial unitWarehouseRetailSound stage

Published workspace options: Office, In5 co-working, Boutique studio, Light industrial unit, Warehouse, Retail, Sound stage. 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 Production City

Dubai Production 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: no primary source stating this zone's own audit requirement was retrievable during research. The audit_required flag is recorded as false because the field cannot express 'unknown'; do not read it as confirmation that no audit is required. 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 Production City suits

Every line below is a restatement of something Dubai Production 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.
  • 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.
  • You want a firm number before you talk to anyone: this zone publishes none, so you will have to request a quote.

Key benefits, as Dubai Production City states them

These are the selling points the authority publishes about itself. We reproduce them; we do not endorse them.

Broader activity mix than other media districts: media plus light industrial, logistics and wholesale
Warehouse and light industrial space alongside studio infrastructure
Access to in5 startup centres and GoFreelance licensing

Common questions about Dubai Production City

Does Dubai Production City publish its setup cost?

Dubai Production City does not publish its pricing. That is the finding, not a gap in our data. Not published. Like Dubai Studio City, DPC is NOT among the four zones covered by the GoFreelance AED 7,500 licence - do not apply that figure here.

What licence types does Dubai Production City issue?

Dubai Production City publishes 3 licence types: Commercial licence, Freelance licence (GoFreelance) and in5 startup licence.

Can a foreign investor own 100% of a company in Dubai Production 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 Production City company?

Dubai Production 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 Production City located?

Dubai Production City is a free zone in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Compare Dubai Production City against

See all UAE free zones

Guides that cover Dubai and this zone's situation

Cost data for Dubai Production City was last checked against TECOM Group, under the Dubai Development Authority (DDA)'s own site on 22 August 2026. We publish no figure for this zone rather than repeat one we cannot source. 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.