Key Takeaways
- The Media licence starts at AED 5,760, a package price. SHAMS's own calculator describes the totals it gives you as estimates (SHAMS, October 2026).
- You get an LLC with 100% foreign ownership in either package, plus up to five activities, a flexi desk and a lease agreement.
- The visa ceiling isn't clear. The home page says 50 per licence, other SHAMS pages give a lower number per package, and your office decides which one you get.
- SHAMS wants the full amount upfront. Paying in instalments is only possible through card and bank partners (SHAMS FAQ, as of October 2026).
- The licence alone doesn't let you trade on the Sharjah mainland. For that, SHAMS points to an officially approved branch or subsidiary.
Starting a media or creative business from Sharjah often leads to SHAMS, and the first SHAMS freezone price you'll see is an advertised starting figure. What you finally pay depends on how many years, shareholders and visas you choose, each priced separately in an online calculator. Two things are left open on the zone's own pages: the visa ceiling and several of the prices. Get both settled before you pay anything.
What SHAMS Sharjah Media City is and who uses it
SHAMS is Sharjah Media City, a free zone in the emirate of Sharjah. Like every free zone, it has its own authority that licenses companies under its own rules. The zone's websites are shams.ae and shamsfz.ae, and it says it was set up in 2017 by Emiri Decree of the Ruler of Sharjah. Media and creative businesses are its focus, though it also licenses services, trading and e-commerce.
The packages suit creators, small agencies, consultants and online sellers whose customers are abroad or inside the zone. A shop or any business that needs walk-in customers in Sharjah belongs on the mainland, meaning anywhere in the emirate outside a free zone. Mainland licences come from the Sharjah Economic Development Department (SEDD, as of October 2026).
Dubai's arrangements for free zone companies don't apply in Sharjah. Executive Council Resolution 11 of 2025 covers Dubai free zone establishments only.
Standard and Media packages
You can choose between two packages, Media and Standard. Both give you a limited liability company (LLC) that can be 100% foreign-owned (SHAMS packages page, as of October 2026). With the Media package you pick up to five media activities. The Standard package lets you pick any five. SHAMS says neither needs a no-objection certificate, a letter from another authority confirming it has no objection to your business.
In the calculator you choose a licence term of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10 years and a shareholder band of 1 to 10 or 11 to 20. Every choice changes the total.
Your licence activities, the exact businesses you may carry out, are printed on the licence, and banks read them closely. It makes sense to have SHAMS give you the exact activity names while you're still choosing between the two packages.
Flexi desk, lease and the physical address
Both packages come with a flexi desk, a shared workspace rather than your own office, and a lease agreement (SHAMS start page, as of October 2026). The lease gives your company its registered address in the zone.
How many visas you can get depends on the office you take. SHAMS links visa numbers to your business needs and your office eligibility. A shared desk may not support a large team. If you'll have staff on site, equipment or stock, find out which office options SHAMS offers and how many visas each one allows.
SHAMS visa ceiling and allocation
SHAMS gives two different maximums. Its home page advertises up to 50 visas per licence. The package cards on its start page say up to 20. The calculator lets you enter any number of investor and employee visas without stating a limit.
Ask SHAMS which maximum applies to the package you're buying and what office you'd need for it, and keep the reply. Picture a licence bought for a team of ten when the real ceiling is lower. Hiring stops until SHAMS agrees to a bigger allocation or you switch package.
The packages page shows no visa prices. Price the visas you need in the calculator, then get a written figure for each one.
SHAMS free zone licence cost, a calculator and no tariff
There's no published fee schedule. SHAMS offers a calculator and one starting figure, and the packages page itself shows no price at all. The calculator says: "The prices provided are estimates only." Use the table as a summary of what SHAMS does publish.
| Item | Figure | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Media licence, starting figure | From AED 5,760 | Package price advertised on SHAMS's start page |
| Licence terms | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10 years | Calculator options |
| Shareholder bands | 1 to 10 or 11 to 20 | Calculator options |
For a real figure, ask SHAMS for a breakdown with a separate amount for each of these:
- the licence and registration;
- the visa allocation, meaning the number of residence visas your company may apply for;
- the establishment card, the immigration record that lets your company sponsor visas;
- the medical test and Emirates ID.
We found no freelance permit on SHAMS's current package, FAQ, calculator or start pages. Check whether one is still on sale.
A calculator result is only an estimate. Compare it with the invoice you sign. An adviser who deals with SHAMS regularly can put these questions for you.
Payment terms, banks and instalments
SHAMS takes the full amount upfront. Instalments are arranged outside SHAMS through card and bank partners (SHAMS FAQ and home page, as of October 2026). The site names Tabby and Tamara, two buy-now-pay-later services, and also mentions monthly payments through partner banks.
If you see a monthly figure, find out which package and term it's based on. Check, too, what the card or bank partner charges if you miss a payment.
Opening a bank account is up to the bank. The Central Bank lists its customer due diligence guidance as in force from 7 November 2025. It tells banks to verify customers and beneficial owners, the real people who own or control a company, and to keep records for at least five years (check the rulebook for the April 2026 update). Have your activity wording, ownership chain and source of funds ready before you apply.
Selling on the Sharjah mainland
Holding a SHAMS licence doesn't give you any rights on the Sharjah mainland, and SHAMS has no dual-licence scheme. According to its FAQ, you can open a branch or subsidiary once the relevant authorities approve it.
SEDD's FAQ lists what a Sharjah branch of a free zone company needs:
- the free zone licence and register;
- board minutes;
- an agency contract with a local agent;
- registration with the Ministry of Economy and Tourism;
- a no-objection letter from the Department of Free Zones.
If your first clients are on the Sharjah mainland, deal with this before you send the first invoice. The SHAMS licence alone doesn't cover invoicing a mainland client without that branch or subsidiary. Fixing it afterwards means dealing with SEDD, the zone and the Ministry all at once. For the other Sharjah zones, see Sharjah free zones compared.
Media permits and Corporate Tax
Creators and agencies also have a federal rule to follow. The Advertiser Permit is now issued by the National Media Authority (NMA), which was set up under Federal Decree-Law 11 of 2025.
You need the permit to post advertising content in the UAE. The exceptions are content promoting your own business and a few other exempt cases (Media Council guide, August 2025). One condition is a valid commercial licence for electronic media activity. Only the NMA can say whether a SHAMS licence counts.
For residents, the permit is free for the first three years, according to the Media Council guide of August 2025. Confirm that and the later renewal fees with the NMA. It has been compulsory since the start of February 2026 at the latest (Federal Decree-Law 55 of 2023, enforcement deadline 31 January 2026).
On tax, the 0% rate applies only to a Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP), a free zone company that meets the conditions for that rate, and only on qualifying income (Cabinet Decision 100 of 2023, Ministerial Decision 229 of 2025). Media and advertising services aren't on the decision's list of qualifying activities. The Ministry of Finance publishes the decisions in English, but that text is not an official translation.
Every new company has to register for Corporate Tax with the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) within three months of incorporation (FTA Decision 3 of 2024). The penalty for registering late is AED 10,000 (Cabinet Decision 75 of 2023 as amended by Cabinet Decision 10 of 2024), as of October 2026. A corporate tax consultant can run the qualifying income test on your own figures, best done before you file.
For other zones that publish package prices, see the guides to RAKEZ company setup and the Ajman Free Zone. The guide to what a UAE company costs covers the full set of costs.
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