Dubai Media City company setup, costs and visas
The media cluster proper: broadcasters, agencies and publishers with staff on the ground. Freelancers and one-person studios get the same industry standing far cheaper in SHAMS or Creative City; the higher price makes sense when you hire staff in Dubai.
Dubai Media City in numbers
Estimate as of 27 Jul 2026. The zone publishes no tariff. This figure is our market estimate; the zone confirms the fee in writing when you apply.
Who Dubai Media City suits
Dubai Media City sits inside TECOM’s Al Sufouh cluster, next door to Dubai Internet City and Dubai Knowledge Park: a deliberately curated address for broadcasters, advertising and PR agencies, production houses and publishers that keep staff in Dubai. The value is the neighbourhood and the client-facing weight of a “Dubai Media City” trade licence.
If you invoice regional brands, pitch for retainers, or want to sit beside the media buyers and networks already in the cluster, the AED 17,000 headline is a fair entry point. If you are a solo creator, a freelancer or a two-person studio working remotely, you are paying cluster rent for prestige you can rent far cheaper elsewhere, which is exactly why the intro above points to SHAMS and Creative City.
What the AED 17,000 licence does and does not cover
The AED 17,000 figure is the media licence itself. It does not include the thing that makes DMC expensive: a mandatory physical office. This is not a flexi‑desk zone: the licence is tied to leased space in the cluster, so your real first-year outlay is licence plus office plus establishment card plus per-visa costs. Budget the office line first, because it drives everything else.
| Cost line | What it is |
|---|---|
| Media licence | From AED 17,000 |
| Office | Mandatory, priced by size, from a business-centre unit to a full fit-out |
| Establishment card | Annual, one per company |
| Visas | Per person; quota set by office size |
Visas and office are one decision
DMC ties your visa allocation to the square metres you lease: there is no flat “X visas per licence” number here. A small serviced unit supports a handful of visas; a growing agency leases more space to unlock more. That is the trade-off of a hire-locally zone: headcount and office have to be planned together from day one.
Work through the visa process before committing to a unit size, and model the true first-year figure with the setup-cost calculator rather than the headline licence alone.
DMC vs the cheaper media licences and the tax point
Against SHAMS (from AED 5,760 for its media package, no office required) or twofour54 in Abu Dhabi (from AED 10,000, with production rebates), DMC is the premium option, and the premium pays for the address and the local team; the activity list is no wider. Choose it when the “Dubai Media City” name and a physical presence in the cluster are part of your commercial pitch.
How to set up a company in Dubai Media City
Activities and trade name
Choose the licensed activities and reserve a trade name. The activities decide which approvals you need, how banks read your file and whether your income can qualify for the 0% QFZP rate.
Documents and KYC
Passports, application forms and a clear account of where the money comes from. Free zone companies can be 100% foreign-owned, so no local sponsor is needed.
Licence and establishment card
The zone issues the licence (typically 10–14 business days). The immigration establishment card comes next and opens visa processing.
Visas and bank account
Each visa holder needs an entry permit, a medical test and an Emirates ID. The corporate bank account is opened in parallel and is usually the slowest step.
Dubai Media City: questions founders ask
How much does a Dubai Media City licence cost?
Does Dubai Media City require a physical office?
How many visas can I get with a Dubai Media City licence?
Is Dubai Media City worth it versus SHAMS?
Where does the AED 17,000 figure come from?
Can this company do business on the UAE mainland?
Does 0% corporate tax apply here?
This is general information on UAE rules. It is not legal, tax or immigration advice for your situation. Rules and government fees change; we confirm the position for your facts in writing before you act.