Key Takeaways
- How many visas you get is up to the zone, and in most Sharjah zones the number depends on the office, desk or package you buy.
- SAIF Zone gives 8 visas for a suite, 5 for an executive office and 3 for a desk. Those figures come from pages with a 2020 footer and may be out of date.
- SPC Free Zone charges AED 2,530 for an investor visa with Emirates ID and AED 640 for the establishment card, according to its blog post updated on 1 October 2026.
- Hamriyah's packages come with 1 to 12 visas but show no prices. SHAMS takes the full payment upfront, its FAQ says.
- Since 1 January 2025, employers in every emirate, Sharjah included, must give private-sector staff health insurance. The basic package is AED 320 a year.
Setting up in a Sharjah free zone and wondering how many visas you'll get? Each zone decides that itself. A free zone is an area with its own authority that licenses companies under its own rules, and that includes the visa quota, the number of residence visas your company may apply for. Usually the quota follows the office or package you pay for. Below you'll find what the zones charge and what to check with them. For the bigger picture, see our guide to company setup in the UAE.
Who issues a Sharjah free zone visa
Two bodies are involved. The zone decides how many visas your company can hold. The visa itself and the Emirates ID card come from ICP, the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security.
ICP's service page (2026) says it takes 2 days to issue an entry visa, and the visa holder must then enter the country within 60 days. Nobody publishes a total time from application to visa in hand. You'll only get timings for each step on its own.
Quotas by facility or package
In Sharjah the quota is tied to the space or package you buy. At SAIF Zone (Sharjah Airport International Free Zone) a suite comes with 8 visas, an executive office with 5 and a desk with 3. The footer on those pages is dated 2020. Treat the numbers as older figures from the zone itself and check that they still apply.
Hamriyah Free Zone sells packages with anywhere from 1 to 12 visas. It doesn't put prices online.
SHAMS (Sharjah Media City) links visas to the package and to whether your office qualifies. Its home page talks about up to 50 visas per licence. The SHAMS FAQ says it takes full payment upfront. Get the limit for your exact package confirmed in writing before you pay.
SPC Free Zone (Sharjah Publishing City) prices visa allocation as its own item, at AED 1,600, in its blog. SRTIP, the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park, says it helps with immigration and golden visas but gives no quota.
Choosing the cheapest package can backfire. On SAIF Zone's older figures, a desk gets you 3 visas and a suite 8. If you plan to hire, have a PRO (the person who handles government paperwork for a company) or an adviser match the quota to the space before you sign anything.
Investor visa, medical test and Emirates ID
For a residence visa you need an entry permit, a medical fitness test and an Emirates ID. Each one has its own fee.
SPC Free Zone lists every item. Together they make up its year-one total of AED 13,165 for the publishing and e-commerce tier, as of October 2026 (SPC blog, updated 1 October 2026):
- the licence, AED 5,750, plus visa allocation at AED 1,600
- the investor visa with Emirates ID, AED 2,530
- the establishment card, AED 640, and e-channel registration, AED 2,280
- the medical test, AED 365
These are the zone's own package prices. They aren't a government tariff. ICP's fee for a resident's Emirates ID also changes with the length of residence. Look at ICP's current table before you compare SPC's total with another zone's.
Sharjah establishment card and insurance
An establishment card is the immigration record that lets your company sponsor visas. Each zone sets its own price for it. SPC charges AED 640. In Dubai, DMCC's schedule of charges shows AED 1,825 a year (October 2026). Compare each fee one by one, not just the package totals.
Health insurance is the other cost to plan for. The government portal u.ae says employers have had to insure private-sector workers since 1 January 2025. That rule now covers every emirate, Sharjah too. MOHRE's health insurance scheme puts the basic package at AED 320 a year (October 2026). Ask the zone whether you need a policy in place before it processes your visa.
Sharjah freelance visa and creator routes
Content creators can look at SHAMS. It sells media packages both with and without visas, which means you can start out without one. Prices change, and its online calculator shows the current ones. SPC Free Zone also lists consulting among its activities.
You don't have to get residence through a zone. ICP offers a Green Residence for freelancers. You'd need a freelance permit from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) and a degree or specialised diploma. You'd also need proof of stable income or financial solvency, and you must have earned at least AED 360,000 a year from freelance work over the previous two years (ICP, September 2026).
Questions to ask the zone
Put these to the zone and get answers first. Then hold them up against our comparison of Sharjah free zones. If most of your customers are in Sharjah itself, also look at a mainland licence, which covers anywhere in the emirate outside a free zone, from the Sharjah Economic Development Department (SEDD).
- How many visas does the package include, and which desk or office does that depend on?
- Are the government visa fees, medical test and Emirates ID part of the price?
- What does the establishment card cost, and what does it cost to renew?
- Are any of the prices quoted before VAT (value added tax)?
- Who submits the visa application to ICP?
These questions work for other zones too. You'll find them all in our list of free zones in the UAE, by emirate.
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