FREE ZONE FILE

SHAMS, Sharjah Media City

Emirate SharjahEstablished 2017Type Free zone, media and creative

Authority Sharjah Media City Free Zone Authority, Amiri decrees 11 and 15 of 2017

What we think

The only UAE free zone that lets you register as an LLC without the FZ tag. Prices still exist on the legacy pages, but the new incorporation portal has removed every figure and replaced it with a calculator that shows zero until you hand over your details. Renewal is not published.

Publishes its headline prices, but not everything

Packages

Media Package, zero visa

5,750 AED

1 year licence · product page

3 media and e-commerce activities
Multiple shareholders
Lease agreement included
0 visa

Shams Trader Package, zero visa

6,500 AED

1 year licence · product page

2 activities only: general trading and e-commerce
Lease agreement included
0 visa

Freelancer Package

7,745 AED

1 year licence · product page

3 mixable trading, services or consultancy activities, one media activity compulsory
AED 7,745 with no visa, AED 15,415 with one visa

Shams Standard Package

8,050 AED

1 year licence · product page

3 activities: general trading, specific trading, services or consultancy
Lease agreement included
0 visa, quota up to 6

All Inclusive Visa Package

14,786 AED

1 year licence · product page

1 visa AED 14,786, 2 visas AED 19,786, 3 visas AED 22,786
Licence, lease, 3 activities, immigration card, e-channel
Emirates ID and medical test included

Where each line was read: product page, a commercial commitment on the zone's own site. Official document, a downloadable schedule, regulation or terms. Blog only, an article on the zone's site, editorial and not contractual. Not published, the zone does not say.

Visas

Cost of a single visanot published separatelynot published

Quotaup to 50 visas per licence depending on activity and office spaceproduct page

Emirates ID and medicalnot included except in the All Inclusive packageproduct page

Deposit on cancellation of the last visa holderAED 2,100official document

Administrative fee on a rejected visaAED 1,050 deducted from any refundofficial document

Offices and desks

Lease agreementincluded in every published packageproduct page

Closed office, shared office, dedicated desk, shared deskno price, no surface, no lease term publishednot published

Year two, and closing down

The two figures nobody advertises. A cheap first year means nothing if year two doubles, and nothing at all if leaving costs a fortune.

Renewal, per year

not published by the zone

Not published on any product page. The terms do publish a multi-year discount of 2 percent for a two year licence, plus 1 percent per further year, capped at 10 percent, which contradicts the 15 to 50 percent advertised on the packages page.

Closing the company

not published by the zone

Not published. What is published is stricter than a price: cancellation requests after payment are not accepted, except where the immigration card is rejected. The AED 2,100 deposit on the last visa holder is settled at cancellation. And reopening after a cancellation means waiting one year if immigration visas were issued, six months for a zero visa company.

Other fees and penalties

Expired licence30 day grace period, then AED 200 per month, plus AED 1,000 if suspended

Rejected visa administrative feeAED 1,050

Last visa holder depositAED 2,100

Minimum regulatory fineAED 1,000

Post boxavailable for an additional annual fee, amount not published

Binding terms

No minimum capital. The share capital is decided by the shareholders and stated in the memorandum.
1 to 50 shareholders.
A registered address inside the zone is required. In practice the flexi-desk lease is bundled into every package.
Books of account must be kept, but the regulations we read set no annual audited statement requirement.
The licence may be cancelled if not renewed within 6 months of expiry.
Cancellation requests after payment are not accepted, except where the immigration card is rejected.
Refunds only apply to immigration card or visa rejection, claimed within 6 months, settled in 10 to 45 days.
Reopening after cancellation: 1 year if immigration visas were issued, 6 months for a zero visa company.

Contradictions on the zone's own site

3 activities on the legacy pricing page against 5 activities on the new portal.
Multi-year discount of 2 to 10 percent in the terms against 15 to 50 percent on the packages page.
Two marketing landing pages give opposite starting prices for the Media and Standard packages.

What this zone does not publish

The unit price of a visa.
The renewal price for every package.
Every office and desk price, surface and lease term.
Establishment card, e-channel, name reservation and registry fees.
The channel partner commission rate.
The validity dates of the 30 percent and 15 to 50 percent discounts.

Where every figure above comes from

shams.ae/business-setup/packages
shams.ae/knowledge-center/faqs
shamsfz.ae/business-setup/rules-and-regulations
shamsfz.ae/terms-and-conditions
shams.ae, Companies and Licensing Regulations 2024, PDF
moec.gov.ae, Ministry of Economy entry for Sharjah Media City

Read on the zone's official site on 13 aout 2026. We print the addresses rather than link them, so you can check any figure word for word, and so this page stays a comparison rather than a doorway.

AED 1,000 back on this zone

This zone pays us an introduction fee, and we hand AED 1,000 of it back to you once your trade licence has actually been issued. You pay the zone exactly what you would pay going direct, we never take a dirham from you, and the cashback is only due if you filled in the Free Zone Radar form first.

Check whether this zone fits your case12 questions, about 90 seconds. It may well tell you this zone is wrong for you.

Figures quoted from the zone are left in the language the zone published them in, so you can check them word for word. This file is available in English and French. The comparator itself is in Arabic too.