Dubai · Free zone
DMC
Dubai Media City
The honest read
What it is actually good at.
Where the regional broadcasters, agencies and publishers actually sit. The freelance permit route is genuinely useful for individual practitioners who need residence without a company.
Who is actually based here
Regional broadcasters, advertising networks, PR firms, publishers and a substantial freelance community on GoFreelance permits.
What it costs
Upper-band pricing, multiples of what SHAMS or Fujairah Creative City charge for a comparable media licence.
How banks receive it
Straightforward, helped by the corporate profile of the larger tenants.
Commonly licensed here
- Emirate
- Dubai
- Type
- Free zone
- Location
- TECOM / Dubai Development Authority
- Established
- 2001
- Licence issuance
- 3–5 weeks
- Residence visas
- By leased area; freelance permits available
- Ownership
- 100% foreign
- Premises
- Offices, studios, co-working
Timelines, quotas and package contents are indicative and change without notice. We confirm every one against the current schedule before you commit to anything.
Premises
Where the office actually goes.
DMC sits in Dubai Media City, so choosing this free zone is also choosing this neighbourhood — the commute, what your staff can walk to at lunch, and who your clients pass on the way up.
The regional media cluster — broadcasters, agencies, publishers and production companies, adjacent to Internet City and Knowledge Park. What DMC itself offers by way of premises: Offices, studios, co-working.
- District
- Dubai Media City, Dubai
- Typical rent
- Upper band free zone pricing
- Licence type there
- Free zone
Questions
For an agency pitching regional brands or a production company needing the talent pool, yes. For a remote consultant it is an expensive postcode.
Media free zones facilitate the UAE Media Council permit, which is a substantial part of what you are paying for.
Yes, through GoFreelance, which is considerably cheaper than a company and carries a residence visa.