SHAMS, Sharjah Media City, publishes its own licence prices: from AED 5,760 for a media or e-commerce licence, AED 6,500 for the Trader Package and from AED 11,000 for a trading or service licence with no visa quota, read on its own site on 22 October 2026. A SHAMS licence through SwiftHub starts at AED 5,750. The zone began with media and creative businesses and now takes e-commerce, trading and services.
The reason to look here specifically is the Trader Package, which puts e-commerce and general trading on one licence. Online sellers routinely buy a narrow e-commerce licence, then find they cannot import and resell physical stock under it.
What SHAMS costs
SHAMS publishes these figures itself, and it runs a public cost calculator. Checked October 2026.
| What | Published figure |
|---|---|
| SHAMS published: Media or e-commerce licence, from | AED 5,760 |
| SHAMS published: Trader Package (e-commerce plus general trading) | AED 6,500 |
| SHAMS published: Trading or service licence, no visa quota | AED 11,000 |
| Through SwiftHub, entry package | From AED 5,750 |
Which of the three SHAMS licences you actually need
SHAMS publishes three figures, and they are not three sizes of the same thing. They are three different permissions. Picking on price alone is how people end up paying twice.
- AED 5,760, the entry licence. SHAMS prices its media and e-commerce licences from this figure. Right if your work is media or selling online without stock, you are not hiring, and you do not need a residence visa yet. It is a real licence, not a trial.
- AED 6,500, the Trader Package. E-commerce and general trading on one licence. Right if you sell online AND touch physical stock — importing, holding, reselling. A narrow e-commerce licence covers the selling but not the goods, which is the single most common upgrade we are asked for after the fact.
- AED 11,000, trading or service with no visa quota. Right the moment headcount is certain. The extra buys the ability to sponsor people, not a better licence.
If you are genuinely unsure whether stock will be involved, buy the Trader Package. The difference between it and the entry licence is AED 740; amending a licence later costs more than that in fees and lost time, and you cannot invoice for an activity you do not hold.
What sits on top of the licence
- Establishment card, required before immigration will process any visa
- E-channel or immigration portal registration
- Residence visa per person: entry permit, status change, medical and Emirates ID
- Corporate tax registration, required whether or not you make a profit
- VAT registration, once turnover crosses the threshold
SHAMS visas
A SHAMS licence can carry up to 50 visas, depending on your activity and the office space allocated to you; SHAMS asks for a business plan and bank statements before it allocates more than ten. Before the first visa, the company needs a valid e-channel registration, an immigration card and a visa allocation. Then each person goes through the entry permit, a change of status if they are already in the UAE, the medical test and health insurance, the residence visa and the Emirates ID, which SHAMS says usually follows 7 to 10 working days after biometrics.
SHAMS's own e-commerce cost guide puts visa fees at AED 2,500 to AED 5,500 per visa, depending on requirements. If you already hold a UAE residence visa through an employer, SHAMS needs no NOC from them to register your company, and the visa holder can sponsor a spouse, children or parents.
The SHAMS e-commerce licence
SHAMS's e-commerce cost guide gives the e-commerce licence from AED 5,760, the same entry figure as the media licence. It covers selling online; once you import, hold or resell goods, the AED 6,500 Trader Package adds general trading on the same licence. If you advertise or market on digital platforms, SHAMS's FAQ warns you may also need an Advertiser Permit.
What a SHAMS licence allows
- Up to five activities on one licence, even across different sectors.
- An LLC suffix without "FZ": SHAMS says it is the only UAE free zone that allows this.
- Changes after incorporation: activities can be updated once the company exists.
- Online issuance: SHAMS claims a licence in 60 minutes when the application is complete.
How the setup runs
- Activity and package. The Trader Package or a standard licence, and whether you need the no-quota tier. This decision drives everything after it.
- Name reservation and initial approval.
- Licence issuance and incorporation documents.
- Establishment card, before any visa can move.
- Visas, in order: entry permit, status change, medical, Emirates ID.
- Corporate tax registration.
What we need from you
- Passport copy for every shareholder and visa applicant
- Passport-style photograph against a white background
- Your intended activities, described plainly
- Three trade name options in order of preference
- For e-commerce: whether you will hold and ship physical stock, which decides whether you need trading activity too
When SHAMS is the right choice, and when it is not
SHAMS fits media and creative businesses, online sellers who need both e-commerce and trading, and small service companies that want a low entry price. The published cost calculator also means you can sanity-check any quote you are given, including ours.
Look elsewhere in these cases:
- You need a Dubai address. SHAMS is in Sharjah. IFZA is the Dubai option.
- You need warehousing or land. SHAMS is not built for it. RAKEZ offers facilities up to land for development.
- You want visas without the higher tier. SPC Free Zone states no cap on visas per licence, which can work out better than SHAMS's AED 11,000 no-quota tier depending on headcount.
- You will sell directly to UAE mainland customers. That needs a mainland licence, not a free zone one.
Year two, and what renewal actually means
A licence is renewed annually, and renewal is not the same bill as setup. The one-off formation work does not repeat: name reservation, incorporation and issuing the establishment card are done once. What recurs is the licence itself, the immigration portal, and each residence visa on its own cycle.
SHAMS publishes setup pricing and a calculator, but a setup figure is not a renewal figure, and the two are widely quoted as if they were the same number. Ask any consultant for both before you commit. We give you the renewal figure alongside the original quote for the same reason — a cheap first year that resets to something else in month thirteen is not a cheap licence.
One useful option: SHAMS lets registered clients renew with an amendment through its portal, so activities can be changed at renewal rather than in a separate application.
Opening the bank account
This is the step that surprises people, and it is worth saying plainly: the free zone does not open your bank account, and neither do we. A UAE bank runs its own compliance review and reaches its own decision. Free zone companies face more of that scrutiny than mainland ones, particularly where the shareholders and the customers are all outside the UAE.
What we can do is prepare the file properly and introduce it: AED 1,000 for a low-risk activity, AED 2,000 where the activity is treated as higher risk. Your activity choice therefore affects your banking, not just your licence — one more reason to get it right at the start. More detail on bank account opening.
Tax, honestly
A SHAMS licence is not a tax exemption. UAE corporate tax is 9% on taxable profit above AED 375,000 and registration is required regardless of profit. A qualifying free zone person can access 0% on qualifying income, subject to conditions you must meet and evidence. VAT is mandatory above AED 375,000 turnover, voluntary from AED 187,500. Thresholds are the Federal Tax Authority's, at tax.gov.ae. Verified August 2026.
Frequently asked questions
SHAMS prices it at AED 6,500 and it combines e-commerce with general trading on one licence. That combination matters if you sell online and also import or resell physical stock, which a narrow e-commerce licence does not cover.
Yes. SHAMS is Sharjah Media City, a free zone in Sharjah. Its English site is shamsfz.ae, and shams.ae opens in Arabic.
From AED 5,760 on SHAMS's own e-commerce cost guide, read in October 2026. If you will hold or resell stock, the AED 6,500 Trader Package adds general trading on the same licence.
Up to 50, depending on your activity and office space. SHAMS asks for a business plan and bank statements before allocating more than ten.
No. SHAMS lets you register a company on your existing UAE residence visa without a no-objection certificate from your sponsor.
No, it is in Sharjah. Sharjah Media City sits next door to Dubai and is commonly compared against Dubai zones on price, but the emirate on your licence is Sharjah.
The entry price is a licence, not a visa allocation. SHAMS publishes a separate trading or service licence with no visa quota from AED 11,000. If you intend to hire, that tier is the honest comparison point rather than the entry figure.
No. The media heritage is in the name and the zone now covers e-commerce, trading and services. It suits creative and content businesses particularly well, but it does not restrict you to them.
Yes. SHAMS publishes a cost calculator on its own site, which is unusual and worth using. Any quote you receive, ours included, should reconcile against it once you account for the establishment card and per-person visa steps that sit outside the licence.
Renewal drops the one-off formation work — name reservation, incorporation, issuing the establishment card — but keeps the licence and the recurring immigration items. It is a different number from setup, not automatically a smaller one, and any quote worth taking states both.
Neither the free zone nor we can promise one. The bank decides, on its own compliance review, and free zone companies with no UAE-resident shareholder and no UAE customers get the most scrutiny. We prepare and introduce the file; the account itself is the bank's call.
Yes, licences can be amended, but it costs fees and time and you cannot invoice for an activity you do not currently hold. If stock might be involved, the AED 6,500 Trader Package at the start is usually cheaper than amending later.
Not directly. Onshore selling needs a mainland licence, a distributor or a branch. If UAE customers will be most of your revenue, starting in a free zone is the expensive route.
Next step
Tell us what you sell and whether you will hold stock or hire. You get a written figure covering the right package, the establishment card and the visa steps together, plus the renewal number.
Related
- Compare UAE free zones
- SPC Free Zone, no visa cap
- IFZA, the Dubai option
- Cheapest free zone licence in Dubai
- Company setup cost calculator
- Bank account opening assistance
- SHAMS official site
Sources
- SHAMS start page: the media licence from its entry price, five activities, 50 visas, no NOC. Read 22 October 2026.
- SHAMS e-commerce cost guide: the e-commerce licence and visa fees. Read 22 October 2026.
- SHAMS Trader Package announcement: the Trader Package and the licence with no visa quota. Read 22 October 2026.
- SHAMS FAQ: visas, the LLC suffix, amendments and renewal. Read 22 October 2026.
- Federal Tax Authority: the corporate tax and VAT thresholds.