Dubai Studio CitySetup cost, licence types and visa rules
Dubai
Production-focused free zone with the largest sound stages in the Middle East.
Dubai Studio City is TECOM's production-focused district, sited near the Dubai Polo and Equestrian Club away from the congestion of the coastal clusters. Its defining asset is physical: it holds the largest sound stages in the Middle East, alongside boutique studios, warehouses and light industrial units used for sets, equipment and post-production. Around 2,800 creative professionals work on site, and the district recorded 358,000 minutes of original content in a twelve-month period to 2024. It fits film and television production companies, broadcasters, post houses and content studios that need stage space rather than an office; smaller creators can enter through the in5 or GoFreelance routes. No licence pricing is published.
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 Studio City cost?
Dubai Studio City does not publish its pricing. That is the finding, not a gap in our data.
Dubai Studio City does not publish its pricing
We checked on 22 August 2026 and found no published figure. That is a finding about Dubai Studio 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. Note that Dubai Studio City is NOT one of the four zones covered by TECOM's GoFreelance freelance licence - gofreelance.ae names only Dubai Media City, Dubai Internet City, Dubai Design District and Dubai Knowledge Park. So the AED 7,500 freelance figure must NOT be applied to this record.
Get a quote for Dubai Studio CityWhat licence types does Dubai Studio City issue?
Dubai Studio City publishes 3 licence types: Commercial licence, Freelance licence (GoFreelance) and Startup licence (in5). 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 Studio City offer?
Dubai Studio City publishes 6 workspace options: Office, Boutique studio, Co-working, Warehouse, Light industrial unit, Retail. Dubai Studio 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, Co-working, Warehouse, Light industrial unit, 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 Studio City
Dubai Studio 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 Studio City suits
Every line below is a restatement of something Dubai Studio 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 Studio 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 Studio City
Does Dubai Studio City publish its setup cost?
Dubai Studio City does not publish its pricing. That is the finding, not a gap in our data. Not published. Note that Dubai Studio City is NOT one of the four zones covered by TECOM's GoFreelance freelance licence - gofreelance.ae names only Dubai Media City, Dubai Internet City, Dubai Design District and Dubai Knowledge Park. So the AED 7,500 freelance figure must NOT be applied to this record.
What licence types does Dubai Studio City issue?
Dubai Studio City publishes 3 licence types: Commercial licence, Freelance licence (GoFreelance) and Startup licence (in5).
Can a foreign investor own 100% of a company in Dubai Studio 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 Studio City company?
Dubai Studio 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 Studio City located?
Dubai Studio City is a free zone in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Compare Dubai Studio City against
- Dubai CommerCityAlso in Dubai · Not published
- Dubai Production CityAlso in Dubai · Not published
- Dubai Science ParkAlso in Dubai · Not published
- ADAFZ - Abu Dhabi Airports Free ZoneAlso publishes no pricing · Not published
- ADGM - Abu Dhabi Global MarketAlso publishes no pricing · Not published
Guides that cover Dubai and this zone's situation
- UAE Free Zone Hidden Costs: The 19 Zones That Won't Tell You What They Charge
We tried to price all 40 UAE free zones. Nineteen still publish nothing usable. Here is exactly what blocks each one, and how to get a written quote.
- 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.
Cost data for Dubai Studio 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.