SHAMS: Sharjah’s Media and Business Free Zone
Sharjah Media City, known as SHAMS, is one of the UAE’s free zones for media, services, trading, industrial and holding activities. When SHAMS first opened, it positioned itself around media-specific licensing, and in early 2020 it expanded its activity list and introduced multi-year licensing discounts. That announcement is now several years old, and both the free zone’s activity list and its pricing structure have since been revised more than once. This guide sets out how SHAMS licensing works today, including company structures, activity categories, indicative costs, visa rules and the setup process, so that founders and investors are working from current information rather than a historic promotion.
SHAMS operates under its own free zone regulations, most recently updated in 2024, and businesses considering it should treat published fee lists as a starting point rather than a fixed quote, since SHAMS has been known to revise pricing across its own channels. For UAE free zone company formation generally, including alternatives to SHAMS, see UAE free zone business setup.
Company Structures and License Types Available Under SHAMS
Under the current SHAMS framework, businesses are set up as one of two legal forms. A Company is a limited liability entity incorporated within the free zone, which can have a single shareholder or multiple shareholders. A Branch is an extension of an already-existing local or foreign entity, rather than a new legal person, and it carries out the same activities as its parent. There is no separate “FZE” or “FZ-LLC” category as a distinct legal form; a single-shareholder company is simply a Company with one owner on record.
SHAMS licenses are generally issued under one of the following broad categories, reflecting the nature of the business rather than a fixed list of sub-classes:
- Service licenses, covering consulting, professional and advisory activities
- Trading licenses, covering the buying and selling of goods, including e-commerce
- Media licenses, covering content production, publishing and related creative activities
- Industrial licenses, covering light manufacturing, assembly and packaging
- Holding licenses, for entities that hold shares in other companies or hold assets
Founders should confirm which category their intended activity falls under before applying, since the category selected affects both the license fee and the approval route.
Business Activity Categories You Can License in SHAMS
The 2020 update that originally introduced dozens of new activity sub-classes to SHAMS, spanning media and publishing, digital services, consulting, creative industries and select wholesale trading, has since been folded into a broader and more frequently updated activity catalogue. Rather than a fixed, versioned list, SHAMS now maintains an activity catalogue that is updated on an ongoing basis and searched through its own registration channel at the time of application. In practical terms, the categories that were expanded in 2020, media and publishing, digital and IT services, professional consultancy, creative and events services, and select trading and wholesale activities, remain broadly available today, but the precise activity codes and permitted combinations should always be checked against the current catalogue rather than assumed from an older announcement.
Some activities require pre-approval from a relevant UAE authority before the license can be issued. This typically applies to regulated services such as certain financial, healthcare, legal or security-related activities. Most standard commercial, media and consulting activities fall into the post-approval category, meaning the license can generally be processed without waiting on a separate external authority.
How Many Activities Can Be Included on a Single SHAMS License
Under the current rules, a single SHAMS business license can typically include up to five business activities, provided they are compatible with one another and fall within the same or related license categories. This is a meaningful change in emphasis from the 2020 announcement, which promoted “two activities included per license at no additional cost” as a promotional benefit. Businesses that need more than five activities, or that need to combine activities across incompatible categories such as trading and industrial manufacturing, will generally need to apply for an additional license or structure the business as more than one entity.
SHAMS License Costs and Visa Packages
SHAMS pricing is structured around a base license fee, plus additional costs for facilities, visa allocation and related government charges. As of 2026, published starting rates for a zero-visa license sit in the low five figures in AED, with visa-inclusive packages costing more depending on the number of visas allocated and the office or desk facility chosen. SHAMS has, at different times, published different figures for the same package across its own website and its client portal, so founders should treat any headline number as indicative and request a written, itemized quote before committing, rather than relying on figures from an older article or a general web search.
Separate from the license fee, businesses should budget for an establishment or immigration card, e-channel registration with the immigration system, and visa costs per employee or investor, which typically include a visa allocation charge plus medical testing, Emirates ID and status change fees. Visa-related processing in SHAMS, as in other UAE free zones, is handled through the UAE’s federal identity and residency system rather than Dubai’s General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs, since Sharjah falls outside that authority’s jurisdiction; company formation agents typically coordinate this on the client’s behalf. For businesses that want this coordinated end-to-end, see PRO services.
Once a license is issued, most SHAMS companies will also need a corporate bank account to operate, which is a separate process from licensing and depends on the bank’s own due diligence requirements. See corporate bank account opening in the UAE for how that process generally works.
Multi-Year License Discounts on SHAMS Licenses
SHAMS continues to offer reduced rates for businesses that commit to a license term longer than one year, extending to renewals of two years or more. The exact discount percentage and the number of years it applies to has changed since the original 2020 promotion, which advertised a flat 15 percent discount at two years and 20 percent at three years, and current published terms describe a different, tiered structure. Because SHAMS has published inconsistent discount terms across its own materials at different points, businesses evaluating a multi-year commitment should ask for the specific discount percentage in writing for their chosen license category and term before paying, rather than assuming the original 2020 rates still apply.
Step-by-Step Process to Set Up a Company in SHAMS
The general sequence for registering a company in SHAMS is as follows.
- Choose the license category and activities. Decide whether the business is Service, Trading, Media, Industrial or Holding in nature, and select up to five compatible activities from the current activity catalogue.
- Reserve a trade name. SHAMS company names generally do not require an “FZ” suffix, but the name still needs to be checked for availability and compliance with UAE naming conventions.
- Decide on the legal structure. Confirm whether the entity will be a Company, with one or more shareholders, or a Branch of an existing local or foreign entity.
- Submit shareholder and KYC documents. This typically includes passport copies, passport-sized photographs and proof of address for each shareholder, along with any corporate documents if a shareholder is itself a company.
- Select the facility package. SHAMS offers shared desk and office-based packages, with the facility chosen affecting the visa quota available under the license.
- Pay the license fee and receive the license. Once documents and payment are processed, license issuance is generally quick, often within a few working days.
- Apply for the establishment card and visas. Immigration processing, medical testing, Emirates ID issuance and visa stamping follow the license and typically take longer than the license itself.
- Open a corporate bank account. This is handled separately from licensing and depends on the receiving bank’s own compliance review.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Setting Up in SHAMS
Founders comparing SHAMS to other UAE free zones, or to UAE mainland business setup, run into a similar set of avoidable issues.
- Relying on outdated pricing. Because SHAMS has revised its fee structure more than once, quoting a figure from an older article, blog post or promotional flyer, rather than a current written quote, is one of the most common sources of budget surprise.
- Choosing activities without checking compatibility. Not every combination of activities can sit on the same license. Mixing, for example, an industrial activity with an unrelated trading activity may require two separate licenses.
- Underestimating visa lead time. License issuance can be fast, but establishment card approval and visa stamping usually take longer, which matters if staff need to relocate on a fixed timeline.
- Overlooking Corporate Tax and accounting obligations. A SHAMS free zone license does not remove a company from the UAE’s Corporate Tax framework. Businesses still need to assess their Corporate Tax registration and filing position, and in many cases should not assume automatic access to the 0 percent free zone regime without meeting the qualifying conditions. See Corporate Tax consultancy in the UAE for how this applies to free zone entities, and accounting services for ongoing bookkeeping once the company is trading.
- Not planning for staffing early. Businesses that plan to hire quickly after setup should sort out payroll and labor compliance before the first employee joins, rather than after. See payroll outsourcing services for how this is typically structured for a newly licensed entity.
Businesses weighing SHAMS against a mainland option, for example where the intended activity requires trading directly within the UAE market without the restrictions that can apply to some free zone licenses, should compare the two routes directly. See UAE mainland business setup for that comparison.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is SHAMS still offering multi-year license discounts in 2026? Yes, SHAMS continues to offer reduced renewal rates for multi-year commitments, though the exact percentages and eligible terms have changed since the original 2020 promotion and should be confirmed at the time of application.
How many activities can I put on one SHAMS license? Under current rules, a single license can generally include up to five compatible business activities.
Do I need an office to set up in SHAMS? No. SHAMS offers shared desk packages as well as dedicated office facilities, with the facility type affecting the visa quota available.
Does a SHAMS free zone company still pay UAE Corporate Tax? A SHAMS company is subject to the UAE Corporate Tax framework like any other UAE entity. Whether it qualifies for the 0 percent free zone rate on its income depends on meeting specific qualifying conditions, so this should be assessed on a case-by-case basis rather than assumed.
Can a SHAMS company trade directly with UAE mainland customers? Free zone companies generally face some restrictions on direct mainland trading compared with a mainland-licensed entity, depending on the activity. Businesses expecting significant mainland trade should compare a free zone license against a mainland one before deciding.
How long does it take to get a SHAMS license? License issuance itself is typically quick once documents and payment are complete, though visa processing for any staff or investors usually takes longer and should be planned separately.
Working with Current Information
SHAMS has changed its activity catalogue, license categories and pricing more than once since its early promotional campaigns, and the rules described in a 2020 announcement should not be relied on for a 2026 setup decision. FAR Consulting Middle East, a UAE business setup and corporate services consultancy and a division of FAR-Farhat Office & Co., established in 1985, tracks free zone regulatory changes across the UAE, including in Sharjah, as part of its business setup advisory work. Businesses considering SHAMS, or comparing it against other free zones or mainland options, are best served by confirming activity codes, license category and current fees directly at the time of application. For a wider view of UAE business support once a company is formed, including PRO, tax and accounting needs, see business services in the UAE.
