Key Takeaways
- Influencers now deal with the National Media Authority, set up under Federal Decree-Law 11 of 2025. The old UAE Media Council website sends you straight to nma.gov.ae.
- Anyone who posts advertising for a product, service, event or activity in the UAE needs the permit first. That covers citizens, residents and visitors, and it applies to unpaid posts as well as paid ones.
- You don't need it to promote your own product, or your own company's, from your personal account. Under-18s posting educational, sports, cultural or awareness content are exempt too.
- A resident's permit runs for one year and can be renewed. A visitor's runs for three months and can be extended up to six. The guide's fee table shows no charge to issue it for the first 3 years.
- To get the permit you must hold a valid commercial licence for electronic media activity. The NMA decides whether a particular free zone licence counts.
Plenty of creators search for an influencer license in the UAE and expect to find a single document. In practice you'll need an Advertiser Permit to post advertising, a licence that lets you trade, and a residence visa if you want to live here. A different body issues each one, and none of them can stand in for another. The permit itself now comes from the National Media Authority.
Permit, licence and visa are three different things
The Advertiser Permit lets you, as an individual, publish advertising content. It doesn't license a business. For that you need a trade licence or a freelance licence from your emirate's licensing office or from a free zone (an area with its own authority that licenses companies under its own rules). This is what allows you to send invoices to clients. The residence visa is what lets you live in the UAE. One of the permit's conditions is that you already hold a licence, which means you get the licence first.
You apply for residence separately. If you set up a company, you can get an investor or partner visa through its licence. Freelancers can also apply for the Green Residence from the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP). For that you need a freelance or self-employment permit from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) and a degree or specialised diploma. You also need proof of stable income or financial solvency, and annual freelance income of not less than AED 360,000 over the previous two years (ICP, September 2026). Our freelance visa and permit guide explains the options.
Advertiser Permit, who needs it and who issues it
The permit is issued by the National Media Authority (NMA). The NMA calls itself a federal public authority set up under Federal Decree-Law 11 of 2025. On its services page the permit has a long official name, Permit for an Individual to Provide Advertising or Media Content on Social Media and Other Digital Platforms. According to a note from the law firm Pinsent Masons, the NMA took over from the UAE Media Council in December 2025. The Council's old website address now forwards to nma.gov.ae.
The Media Council published a guide in August 2025. It bases the permit on Decision 3 of 2025 of the Council's Chairman and on Federal Decree-Law 55 of 2023 on Media Regulation. The guide says every individual must get the permit before publishing advertising on social media for any product, service, event or activity in the UAE. That includes citizens, residents and visitors, and it doesn't matter if you're paid for the post.
There are two exemptions in the guide. You don't need the permit if you promote your own product, or your own company's product, from your personal account. Children under 18 who make educational, sports, cultural or awareness content don't need it either.
The rules reach brands too. Pinsent Masons notes that brands, agencies and PR firms that pay for the content or help arrange it must also comply. If you run a brand, check the creator's permit before you pay for a campaign. Gulf News and Pinsent Masons both reported in January or February 2026 that the permit is mandatory, and you should treat it that way.
Conditions, validity and cost of the permit
According to the guide, you have to meet these conditions to apply:
- You're 18 or older (there are extra conditions if you're between 15 and 18)
- You have good conduct and no earlier breach of media standards
- You hold a valid commercial licence for electronic media activity from the relevant authority (for minors, a guardian's licence)
- You've completed the Council's awareness and training programme
- You don't owe any outstanding fees
Citizens and residents get a permit that lasts one year and can be renewed. Visitors get three months, which can be extended up to six. The permit and your licence renew on different dates, and it's easy to miss one. Put both in your calendar.
In the guide's fee table, issuing the permit costs nothing for the first 3 years. What it costs after that is up to the NMA, and you should check before the free period ends. Pinsent Masons also reports fines for posting advertising without a permit. Get the current penalty list from the NMA before you post any paid content.
Free zone creator and media licences
As a creator, you need a licence for electronic media activity. Only the NMA can confirm whether a given free zone licence is good enough. Its FAQ says it oversees media businesses working inside media free zones, so those zones fall under its rules as well.
Use the table to get a first idea of what each media zone offers and what it says it charges.
| Zone | What it offers | Published price, with label | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| SHAMS (Sharjah Media City) | Media Package issued as an LLC (limited liability company), up to five media activities, flexi desk | Media licence from AED 5,760 (package; visas and extras cost more) | SHAMS start page, October 2026 |
| Ajman Media City | Yearly packages for media companies | AED 4,999 with no visa to AED 22,999 with three visas (package) | Ajman Media City package page, October 2026 |
| twofour54, Abu Dhabi | Licence for a sole proprietor or freelancer, a new company or a branch | A blog post from March 2023 said licence and registration fees were waived for the first two years; the current business setup page shows no waiver | twofour54 blog, March 2023; check the current terms |
| RAKEZ (Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone) | Freelancer permit for someone working alone, with a list of media professions | From AED 6,100 (package); no company bank account, no extra visas | RAKEZ freelancer permit page, December 2025 |
| Dubai Media City and other TECOM zones | Freelancer permit | Request the current fee sheet from TECOM | TECOM zone pages |
These prices are as of October 2026, or the date shown in the table. They're the zones' own package or fee descriptions, not a quote for your situation. When you contact a zone, ask for three things: the fee sheet for your activity, the renewal price, and whether the NMA accepts its licence for the permit.
A media free zone licence might not let you sell advertising to clients on the mainland, which means anywhere in the emirate outside a free zone. Read the wording of your licensed activity before you invoice a mainland brand. In Dubai, a free zone company can work with mainland clients through one of the options in Executive Council Resolution 11 of 2025. You can open a mainland branch, run a branch from your zone office for AED 10,000 a year, or take a temporary permit of up to six months for AED 5,000. The Resolution only applies in Dubai.
When the six-month permit started, its first phase only covered non-regulated activities (Dubai Media Office, 8 October 2025). Look it up on Invest in Dubai before you promise a Dubai client any media work. A setup adviser can compare the activity wording on your free zone licence with the services you actually charge for.
Mainland route for a solo creator
If you work alone and want a mainland licence, you have a few choices. Dubai's e-trader licence is a home-based licence for one person who sells goods or services through social media and online platforms (dubai.ae, April 2026). In Abu Dhabi, the Department of Economic Development (ADDED) offers a Freelancer licence that doesn't need an office (October 2026). MOHRE also issues freelance and self-employment permits. Its app shows the current fee.
Ask the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), Dubai's licensing office, or ADDED whether advertising and content services are on the activity list for the licence you have in mind. Selling merchandise online raises its own licence and VAT questions, and the online seller guide goes through them. If you plan to hire editors and need visas for them, the startup company guide is a better place to start.
Tax on creator income
If you do business as an individual, you only pay Corporate Tax once your gross turnover goes over AED 1,000,000 in a calendar year. Salary, personal investment income and income from property investments don't count. Below that level you don't have to register (Cabinet Decision 49 of 2023).
If you trade through a company, it has to register within three months of incorporation (FTA Decision 3 of 2024). That includes free zone companies. The company pays 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% on anything above (Cabinet Decision 116 of 2022). The special 0% rate for free zone companies is narrower. It only applies to a Qualifying Free Zone Person, a free zone company that meets the conditions for that rate, and only on its qualifying income (Cabinet Decision 100 of 2023, Ministerial Decision 229 of 2025). Advertising income from UAE brands has to be checked against those rules before you pick a zone. A corporate tax consultant can go through your contracts and tell you where you stand.
VAT registration becomes mandatory once your taxable supplies and imports pass AED 375,000 over 12 months (VAT Executive Regulation, as of October 2026). Fees from brands outside the UAE can be treated differently for VAT, and an accountant should look at those. Small Business Relief is a tax relief for companies with revenue up to AED 3 million. The small business owner guide explains it.
Costs, renewal and choosing by audience
You'll pay for the permit, the licence and the visa separately. The permit is free for the first 3 years. The licence costs whatever the authority or zone charges. The visa has ICP or GDRFA (Dubai's residency office) rates plus the zone's own fees. Get a separate quote for each, and keep all three renewal dates in one calendar.
Base your choice on who your clients are. If your clients and your audience are in the UAE, ask DET or ADDED about a mainland licence. Then the Resolution 11 options don't apply to you. If you mostly work for foreign brands, a media zone package may suit you better. The guide says the permit covers advertising for a product, service, event or activity in the UAE. Ask the NMA whether you need it for content made for a foreign brand and aimed at people abroad.
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