Company Formation in Sharjah Media City

Sharjah Media City (SMC) Free Zone is located in the Emirate of Sharjah. With an area of 2.590 sq. km, Sharjah is the third largest emirate in the UAE; it is situated 10 km off Dubai and an hour’s drive from Abu Dhabi.

Due to its geocentric location, the emirate is an important business centre both domestically and internationally, including key markets in Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

The proximity to the main trade routes, highly developed urban and social infrastructure, and a relatively low cost of rent, utilities and living made this emirate attractive for business and life, and also increased its reputation as the world’s eleventh most attractive international destination for direct foreign investment.

Key Specifics of Sharjah Media City Business Setup

• quick company registration;
• possibility to create substance in the country of registration;
• possibility to obtain a residence visa for the company’s shareholders and employees;
• mandatory audit;
• company can only issue one class of shares of equal par value;
• no requirement to prove the payment of authorized capital to register a company.

Shams Business Setup Registration Procedure

1. Choose a company name to be checked for availability (at least 2 names)
2. Define a company structure (director, shareholders, and manager)
3. Define the company’s license type aligning with its activities
4. Choose your office type: Flexi desk и E-Office, Executive office
5. Providing documents for directors / shareholders / attorneys (either originals or notarized copies)
6. Pay all the necessary fees
7. Sign the corporate documents
8. Get the originals and the company seal

Types of Office Permitted in Shams

Upon registration the company and the Free Zone authority sign a lease agreement for the office (shared desk); the address of such office is considered the official registered office address of the company.

Sharjah Media City Business Registration Period

10 days

Types of Licenses Issued in Shams Free Zone

• Service licence – allows the holder to provide the type of services specified in the licence. Examples of service licences: business consulting, marketing consulting, project consulting, IT consulting, etc.
• Trading licence – allows the holder to import, export, sell, distribute and store goods specified in the licence.  Examples of trading licences: general trading, e-commerce, trading in certain types of goods: 3 to 5 types.
• Industrial licence – allows the holder to import raw materials for production, processing and / or assembly of specified products. Finished products can be exported outside the UAE. Examples of industrial licences: processing licence, assembly licence, packaging licence, production licence.

To Register a Company:

The director can be an individual (min – 1).

The manager can be an individual (min – 1), can be the same person as director.

Both individuals and legal entities can be shareholders (min – 1, max – 50).

No requirements as to the residence of director, manager or shareholder(s).

The company’s name should be unique.

Registration is executed in the English language.