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Dubai Studio City is the TECOM district for film, TV, broadcasting and music. A production company pays a one-time AED 3,500 registration and an AED 15,000 annual licence. Broadcasters pay more: AED 25,000 for a station or OTT service, AED 40,000 for a network. DSC also asks for more capital than most Dubai media zones, from AED 50,000. Visas follow the office: one per 80 sq ft.
DSC is licensed by the Dubai Development Authority under the same fee decision as its sister districts. Our Dubai Internet City page explains that decision. Here we cover only what changes for a studio or broadcaster.
How much does a Dubai Studio City license cost?
| Segment group | Licence a year | Minimum capital |
|---|---|---|
| Production, Digital Content Creation, Film Support, Music and Entertainment, other support | AED 15,000 | AED 50,000 |
| TV or radio station, IP streaming or OTT | AED 25,000 | AED 50,000, or AED 1,000,000 for satellite or terrestrial stations |
| TV or radio network | AED 40,000 | AED 1,000,000 for satellite or terrestrial networks |
| Second standard segment | AED 10,000 added | |
| Registration, new company or branch | AED 3,500 once |
Source: DDA Licence Categories Decision, Art. 14.1 fee table and Art. 15 capital rules, plus the DDA registration page, checked .
So a post-production house with one segment pays AED 3,500 plus AED 15,000 in its first year, before rent and capital. An OTT channel with its own production arm would hold two lines and pay more. Confirm which of the 14 fee lines your activities fall under before you sign a lease.
Does Dubai Studio City require share capital?
This is the biggest trap in DSC. The DSC FAQ says the minimum refundable capital is AED 10,000. The DDA decision, which is the binding rule, sets AED 50,000 for most DSC segments and AED 1,000,000 for satellite or terrestrial TV and radio stations and networks. The decision is the more specific source, so we use it. Ask the DSC team to confirm your figure in writing, because the gap is large for a broadcaster.
What do setup agencies charge for Dubai Studio City?
Setup agencies publish Dubai Studio City prices of about AED 14,999 to AED 48,000 (published prices of 3 agencies, checked ). The lowest is a licence on its own, with the lease extra. One agency quotes a first-year basic package with a DSC base at the middle of the range. The top figure includes a visa and rent. These agency figures are not our prices, and none of them shows the capital deposit.
What office options does Dubai Studio City offer?
What sets DSC apart is production space. The zone lists sound stages, studios, backlots and water tanks for shoots. Stage hire is priced per booking and not published.
For a company base, the DSC FAQ lists offices of 700 to 1,300 sq ft, fitted or not fitted. Office rent is also not published. Ask for a lease quote by unit.
DSC has no TECOM co-working brand of its own on the pages we read. D/Quarters, the TECOM co-working space, sits in Dubai Media City and Dubai Science Park.
What does a Dubai Studio City visa cost?
The DSC FAQ allows one visa per 80 sq ft of leased space. A 700 sq ft office therefore supports eight visas and a 1,300 sq ft office sixteen.
Before the first visa the company needs an establishment card. Neither fee appears on a public DSC, TECOM or DDA page. Company visa work runs through axs, TECOM's government services portal, and its price list is shown to logged-in clients only. We read the DDA service cards, tried axs.ae and its archived pages, and checked the axs centre listing for Studio City. No company fee anywhere.
What a studio can plan with, and how far to trust each line:
Crew visa, published by setup agents. About AED 2,500 to AED 7,500 for each employee, from 6 agencies that price visas across the TECOM districts. None of them gives a Studio City figure of its own.
Visa deposit, published by setup agents. AED 2,500 per person, refundable when the visa is cancelled. Two agencies list it.
Establishment card, published by setup agents. AED 1,000 to AED 2,500, from 5 agencies.
The only official TECOM figures. GoFreelance lists a visa at AED 4,600 for one year or AED 5,042 for two, and a card at AED 2,000. Those are for freelance permit holders in other districts, not for a DSC company, so do not budget your crew on them.
Source: agency visa price pages for the TECOM districts and the GoFreelance page on dic.ae, checked .
The agency spread is wide. Part of it is what each agent counts: the medical test and Emirates ID are in some quotes and missing from others. For a director or shareholder visa, no published figure is reliable. When a partner quotes, ask for the visa lines split out per person. The free zone visa cost guide lists the federal parts.
Which licence types and company forms does Dubai Studio City offer?
You can open a new FZ-LLC or a branch of a UAE or foreign company. The DSC FAQ also lists a freelance permit. The DDA decision, though, has no freelancer segment for DSC, and TECOM's GoFreelance permit covers only Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, Dubai Knowledge Park and Dubai Design District. If you are a freelance editor or camera operator, the realistic route is a GoFreelance permit in Dubai Media City, then hiring DSC stages by the day.
How do you set up a company in Dubai Studio City?
- Match your activities to a DSC fee line and confirm the capital for it.
- Choose an office, and book stage time if you need it at launch.
- Apply through axs online or with a TECOM Partner Relationship Manager.
- Pay the AED 3,500 registration and the segment licence, deposit the capital and sign the lease.
- Receive the Commercial Licence, Certificate of Incorporation, Register of Directors and Articles.
- Get the establishment card, then sponsor staff.
DSC's FAQ says 7 working days once documents and payment are complete: 4 for initial approval and 3 to issue. The DDA's own service page says 10 working days for provisional approval and 2 for registration. Plan on the DDA figure.
What to have ready:
- Passport copies of shareholders, directors and the general manager
- The DDA application and a resolution to incorporate
- An attested power of attorney if a representative applies
- For a branch, the parent's licence, good standing letter and board resolution
What does Dubai Studio City license renewal cost?
Licences last one year. You pay your segment fee again each year through axs. Renew on time: a delay of 31 to 60 days costs AED 2,500, 61 to 90 days AED 5,000, and longer AED 10,000.
Pros and cons of Dubai Studio City
Pros:
- Sound stages, studios, backlots and water tanks in one district
- Segments for film support, music and digital content at the standard AED 15,000
- Separate fee lines for OTT and broadcast, so the licence matches the business
- Fitted offices from 700 sq ft
Cons:
- Capital of AED 50,000 or AED 1,000,000, far above the AED 10,000 in Dubai Media City
- Broadcast licences cost AED 25,000 or AED 40,000 a year
- No DDA freelancer segment and no GoFreelance in DSC
- Stage and office rates not published, and crew visa fees show only inside axs
For printing, packaging or publishing, Dubai Production City is the closer fit. Our best free zone for media page compares media zones, and the Dubai free zones hub lists the rest.
Send your DSC request
Use the form here to describe your segment, office size and any stage dates. UAEFreeZoneDirectory.com is an independent listing site and does not speak for DSC or TECOM. Your request goes to the zone or to a licensed setup partner, who replies with figures.
Setup consultants that work with DSC
If you would rather not handle the application yourself, Elevate Business Solutions DMCC, The Infinite Service and Excellence Auditing, Accounting & Tax Consultants are the highest ranked consultants that name DSC on their own websites. Elevate Business Solutions DMCC is based in JLT. The full directory of Dubai setup consultants lets you filter by area and service.
Sources
- https://dda.gov.ae/-/media/67662280247F46F2B94A853943F014C4.pdf : DSC fee lines, capital by segment, freelancer segments, late penalties
- https://dda.gov.ae/registration-licensing/setting-up-a-business/free-zone-limited-liability-company/registration-fz-llc-with-natural-person : registration fee, documents, 10 plus 2 day timing
- https://dubaistudiocity.ae/connect/faqs : capital wording, 80 sq ft visa ratio, office sizes, entity types, 7 day setup
- https://dubaiindustrialcity.ae/en/offerings/gofreelance : districts covered by GoFreelance
- https://www.tecomgroup.ae/ : district list, DSC opened in
- Agency prices: three setup agency pages, checked
- https://dic.ae/offerings/gofreelance : the official freelancer visa and card fees
- https://axs.ae/ and the DDA service cards at https://dda.gov.ae/ : no company visa fee without a client login
- Visa, deposit and card figures from agents, all TECOM districts: Dubai Business Zone, Pro Deskk, UAE Consultants, Noble Core Ventures, Emirabiz, Business Setup Consultants, Dubai Business Zone visa guide, FZVS, UAE Free Zone Finder, Creative Zone
