# SHAMS Business Licence (Sharjah Media City)

- **Type:** license
- **Status:** evergreen
- **City:** Sharjah
- **Equity:** No equity
- **Cost:** Low-cost media FZ (confirm quote)
- **Duration:** Annual licence
- **Apply:** https://www.shams.ae/home-
- **Page:** https://www.dxbstart.com/programs/shams

SHAMS (Sharjah Media City) is a low-cost, mostly remote media and creative free-zone licence: 100% ownership, shared-desk visa packages advertised up to a dozen visas. Evergreen. Apply on shams.ae. This is for media, content, production, and adjacent services — not a fintech story. If you are a trading company or a bank, pick another zone. If you make things people watch or read, SHAMS is one of the cheaper honest options.

## Desk take

Use it if you are actually in media. A “media licence” for a crypto desk is how people get messy renewals.

## Eligibility

Sharjah's media-and-creative free zone — the budget-friendly, fully online option for content, media and digital businesses.
- Aimed at creative entrepreneurs, startups, SMEs and freelancers; established 2017 by Emiri Decree as a dedicated media and creativity free zone
- 100% foreign ownership; shareholders are not required to be physically present in the UAE to incorporate
- Wide range of business activities permitted on the same licence; allocation of up to 12 visas on a shared-desk facility
- Quick, fully online registration with a free official cost calculator to price your setup before committing
- Based in Al Messaned, Sharjah — 10 minutes from Sharjah International and 30 minutes from Dubai International — with on-site media facilities (podcast room, filming locations, training)

## Questions

### Is a Sharjah licence a problem in Dubai?

You can operate; some counterparties still prefer Dubai paper. Know your buyers.

### Do I need to live in Sharjah?

The product is sold as remote-friendly. Visas and visits still follow UAE rules.


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Source: DXBStart — the working index of the UAE startup ecosystem. Canonical page: https://www.dxbstart.com/programs/shams
More machine-readable resources: https://www.dxbstart.com/llms.txt
Startups can request a listing at https://www.dxbstart.com/submit — free, editorially reviewed.