Hamriyah Free Zone Company Setup 2026: Licences, Costs, Visas and Land in Sharjah

Hamriyah Free Zone company setup is the process of incorporating a free zone establishment (FZE), free zone company (FZC), branch or subsidiary in the Hamriyah Free Zone, a Government of Sharjah free zone set up by Emiri Decree in 1995 and run by the Hamriyah Free Zone Authority (HFZA). A Hamriyah company can be wholly foreign-owned, leases an office, warehouse or industrial plot inside the zone, sponsors Sharjah residence visas in line with that facility, and sits beside Hamriyah Port, which makes the zone a base for oil and gas, steel, maritime, food and logistics businesses.

This guide explains each part of the process in order: what the zone is for, legal forms, licences, the four setup steps, documents, the Hamriyah Free Zone license cost that HFZA actually publishes, facilities and visa quotas, the Sharjah immigration route, banking, tax, mainland access and compliance. For the wider picture, see our Sharjah free zones guide and the UAE-wide free zones in the UAE pillar guide. If you would rather have the paperwork handled, our free zone company setup support covers Hamriyah from enquiry to bank account.

Every fact below comes from the official sources listed at the end, read on 26 September 2026. HFZA’s website mixes current pages with older text, and we flag each place where two of its pages disagree.

Hamriyah Free Zone company setup at a glance

The single most useful fact about the Hamriyah Free Zone is that it prices and allocates visas by facility, and publishes those allocations. That makes it easier to plan than many zones. The second is its port: if you do not need heavy industrial land, the sea or a large warehouse, you may pay for infrastructure you will not use. If you are still weighing up routes for business setup in Dubai and the northern emirates, we compare Hamriyah with the alternatives in writing.

What the Hamriyah Free Zone is known for

HFZA says investors can open a Hamriyah Free Zone company in one of six sectors, each with its own facilities and packages:

• Oil and gas. HFZA describes an oil and gas zone of more than 4.6 million square metres of leased land, over 1,200 investors, 1.2 million square metres of storage land and more than 900 storage tanks, and calls Hamriyah “the second-largest petrochemical hub in the UAE”. Sub-sectors run from exploration and refining to storage, trading and equipment repair.
• Industrial Manufacturing Park. Steel, timber, building materials, machinery, plastics, glass and furniture, with land leases of up to 25 years. HFZA claims “the largest number of steel fabricators in the region”.
• Maritime industry. Sea-access plots from 5,000 square metres, a 14-metre deep-water port and a 7-metre inner harbour, with licences for shipbuilding, rig building, repair, offshore fabrication and ship chandlery.
• Food Park. An 11 million square foot park for food production, processing, packaging and distribution, with help dealing with Sharjah Municipality and food safety services.
• Global Logistics Park. Storage, distribution, e-commerce fulfilment, freight forwarding and packaging.
• Accelerator Hub. Office packages and consultancy licences for SMEs, which HFZA says suit businesses “with up to six employees”.

A joint release by HFZA and SAIF Zone on 20 January 2025 gives the scale: HFZA attracted 900 companies in 2024; more than 450 iron and steel companies occupy about 50 million square feet, roughly 16% of the zone’s 300 million square feet; and investors named include ArcelorMittal, Lamprell, Eversendai, Unger Steel, Zinkpower Group, Belleli Energy, Halliburton (a drilling tool facility of nearly one million square feet) and Petrozo Energy (an AED 120 million oil products plant). The same release reports that HFZA won “Best Free Zone Globally” in fDi Intelligence’s Global Free Zones of the Year 2024. We cite these as HFZA’s own announcements.

How the Hamriyah Free Zone differs from rival zones

The Hamriyah Free Zone’s edge is land and the sea. Few free zones offer large plots with a deep-water port inside the fence, fixed land rates for five years and rent holidays during construction. Compared with SAIF Zone, its sister zone under the same director, Hamriyah is further from Sharjah city and the airport but has the port and far larger plots; SAIF Zone is the choice for air freight and gold. Compared with JAFZA, Hamriyah offers a Sharjah alternative with a similar land-and-port model and Sharjah residence through ICP. Compared with Ajman Free Zone or RAKEZ, it competes on industrial land and port access rather than on the cheapest desk licence.

Hamriyah Free Zone company setup: legal forms and ownership

HFZA’s FAQ confirms that no local partner is needed and that investors may be partners in other companies inside or outside the zone. Facilities “can only be leased”, not bought.

Share capital. HFZA’s current set-up and FAQ pages do not state a minimum share capital. Do not assume there is none: ask HFZA to confirm in writing whether a minimum applies to your FZE or FZC and whether it must be paid in, because banks and some regulators will ask.

Branch or subsidiary? HFZA groups them together, but they are different. A branch is part of the parent company and the parent carries its liabilities; a subsidiary set up as an FZE or FZC owned by the parent is a separate company with limited liability. The choice affects liability, accounts and corporate tax, so decide it before you file.

Hamriyah Free Zone licence types and activities

The Hamriyah Free Zone authority adds that licences for activities not listed “can be issued on a subject to approval basis”. Its office packages cover commercial or service licences only; for industrial activity, plan on a Hamriyah Free Zone warehouse or a plot.

Hamriyah Free Zone activities that need another approval

These are general UAE rules rather than an HFZA list, but they come up often in Hamriyah:

• Food: the Food Park works with Sharjah Municipality on food safety; products sold in the UAE need registration and testing.
• Oil, gas and chemicals: storage and handling of hazardous materials involve Sharjah Civil Defence (on site at HFZA) and environmental approvals.
• Maritime: ship repair, chandlery and marine services interact with Hamriyah Port and Sharjah’s port and customs authority.
• Gold, precious metals, real estate and company services: AML obligations and goAML registration under Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025.

Hamriyah Free Zone company setup process, step by step

HFZA describes four steps for Hamriyah Free Zone company setup, all handled by its own departments on site:

1. Commercial Department: choose your facility (office, warehouse or land) and submit your documents.
2. Leasing, Licensing and Legal Affairs: issue of the trade licence and lease agreement, then facility handover.
3. Investors Services Department: security approval and establishment card.
4. Immigration: open your E-Channel account, then the visa application, medical, Emirates ID and visa stamping.

The one-hour licence is real in the sense that HFZA issues licences at its own counters once everything is complete. The time that matters is before and after: attesting parent company documents, security approval, and for land, design approvals and construction. Plan a land project in months, not days.

Hamriyah Free Zone company setup documents required

Source: HFZA FAQ document table and set-up page. HFZA’s pages do not spell out the attestation route for foreign parent documents. In practice, UAE authorities expect documents issued abroad to be notarised, legalised by the home country and the UAE embassy there, and then by UAE MOFA, with a legal translation if they are not in Arabic or English. The UAE is not a party to the Apostille Convention; see our apostille vs attestation guide. Confirm with HFZA before sending originals.

Every Hamriyah Free Zone FZE, FZC or subsidiary must also keep a register of beneficial owners and a register of shareholders and file them with HFZA. HFZA’s UBO page cites Cabinet Decision No. 109 of 2023, Cabinet Resolution No. 71 of 2024 and Cabinet Decision No. 132 of 2023. Our UBO register guide explains the deadlines.

Hamriyah Free Zone license cost: what HFZA publishes

The Hamriyah Free Zone is more open about money than many zones, but its figures are scattered and some are marked indicative. Here is everything we found on 26 September 2026.

HFZA’s warehouse page states that “visa related costs are not included in the package” and that “prices are indicative”. Its footnote symbols are also muddled (the same asterisk is used for “payable yearly” and “one-time”); we read the licence and service fee as yearly and the incorporation fee and deposit as one-time, which is how the lines are grouped. Confirm on your quotation.

What your Hamriyah Free Zone license cost quotation should show

Ask for a written quotation that separates: licence type and activities; package or facility, its size and visa quota; licence fee, service fee and rent; incorporation fee and deposit; the establishment card and security approval; the cost per visa including medical, Emirates ID and insurance; utilities and power load for warehouses; and the year-two renewal. For land, add the fixed rate period, the rent holiday during construction and the build-out ratio (HFZA allows development of up to 60% of a plot).

Hamriyah Free Zone offices, warehouses and land, and the visas each carries

HFZA publishes the visa quota for every office package and warehouse. The chart and table below bring those numbers together.

Two oddities are worth knowing. First, some office packages give more visas for less space: a 10 sqm Smart Business package carries 4 visas, while a 12 sqm Deluxe Package 1 carries 2. The packages differ in shareholders, activities and price, so compare the whole package, not just the square metres. Second, HFZA’s warehouse pages disagree on the smallest unit, describing it both as 200 sqm (174 sqm of warehouse space plus a 26 sqm office) and as “250m² of warehouse / factory space”. Ask which you are leasing.

Each Hamriyah Free Zone warehouse has a power load from 20 kW to 150 kW and heights of 7 or 9 metres, with loading bays, a mezzanine option and fire systems. Land comes with a 25-year renewable lease, five years of fixed rates and a rent holiday during construction, and can be built up to 60% of the plot. HFZA also offers virtual options, the Hamriyah Business Centre and E-Office packages, and on-site labour accommodation in rooms for 4, 6, 8 or 12 people.

HFZA’s FAQ is clear that it does not issue a licence with an office outside the zone. You must lease something in the Hamriyah Free Zone.

Hamriyah Free Zone visa and residency

A Hamriyah Free Zone visa is a Sharjah residence visa issued through ICP, the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security, not through GDRFA Dubai. HFZA acts for its companies in place of the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation: it handles the work permit side, while its Investors Services and Immigration departments process the file. The residence file number starts with 3, the Sharjah code. Our ICP vs GDRFA guide explains the split.

The Hamriyah Free Zone visa process

1. Security approval and establishment card through HFZA’s Investors Services Department. See our establishment card guide.
2. E-Channel account opened with HFZA Immigration.
3. Entry permit or change of status for each shareholder or employee (ICP change of status: AED 500).
4. Medical fitness test at a Sharjah centre, then Emirates ID biometrics (ICP publishes 5 days for the card). Our medical test guide explains the test.
5. Residence stamping (ICP publishes 2 days to issue the residence; AED 100 + AED 100 per year + AED 100 smart services).

HFZA says it offers more than 300 online services for visas, renewals and other transactions, plus on-site typing centres, banks and Emirates Post. It does not publish an end-to-end visa time or its own visa fees.

Family and Golden Visa

Shareholders and employees on a Hamriyah Free Zone visa can sponsor family through ICP on the Sharjah file, subject to the federal salary and housing rules; see our family visa salary guide. Owners of larger Hamriyah companies may qualify for a Golden Visa under the federal investor or entrepreneur categories; see our Golden Visa eligibility guide.

Opening a bank account after Hamriyah Free Zone company setup

HFZA hosts branches of banks and currency exchanges on site, but a Hamriyah company can bank anywhere in the UAE. Banks will ask for the licence, incorporation certificate, Memorandum, share register, lease, passports and Emirates IDs of shareholders and signatories, a business plan naming suppliers and customers, and for corporate owners the legalised group structure. Oil and gas traders, scrap and metals dealers and companies trading with high-risk countries face closer checks. A physical warehouse or plot and a UAE-resident manager help. See our corporate bank account guide.

Tax after Hamriyah Free Zone company setup: corporate tax, VAT and customs

HFZA’s “Why HFZA” page still lists “No corporate and income taxes”. That is out of date. HFZA’s own corporate tax page (November 2024) is accurate: it says Hamriyah is “a designated and a qualified free zone” and that businesses can “avail 0% Corporate Tax rate on their qualifying income”.

Under Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 and Cabinet Decision No. 100 of 2023, a Qualifying Free Zone Person pays 0% on qualifying income and 9% on other taxable income. The conditions include adequate substance in the zone, audited financial statements, transfer pricing compliance and non-qualifying revenue within the de minimis limit (the lower of AED 5 million or 5% of revenue). Qualifying activities are listed in Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025, which replaced Ministerial Decision No. 265 of 2023 from 1 June 2023; they include manufacturing and processing, trading of qualifying commodities, logistics, and distribution of goods in or from a designated zone. Small Business Relief is not available to a Qualifying Free Zone Person. Every company must register with the FTA; see our corporate tax registration guide.

VAT. “Hamriyah Free Zone” is on the FTA’s list of designated zones under Cabinet Decision No. 59 of 2017, effective 1 January 2018 (we read the FTA’s consolidated list of 21 September 2021 because the live FTA page could not be read; check the current list). Designated-zone treatment applies to certain supplies of goods; services and goods released to the mainland are taxed as usual, and registration is mandatory above AED 375,000 of taxable supplies.

Customs. Sharjah Customs, part of the Sharjah Ports, Customs and Free Zones Authority, runs a Hamriyah Customs Centre. HFZA lists “no customs duty on import, export and re-export”; duty applies when goods enter the UAE mainland.

Trading with the mainland from Hamriyah Free Zone

A Hamriyah Free Zone licence covers activity inside the zone and trade across borders. HFZA will not license a company whose office is outside the zone. To operate on the Sharjah mainland, the routes are Sharjah’s own; Dubai’s Executive Council Resolution No. 11 of 2025 and its mainland operating permit apply only to Dubai free zones.

• Branch licensed by the Sharjah Economic Development Department (SEDD). SEDD’s FAQ lists documents for “branches of free zones” in the emirate, including the licence, constitutional documents, a board resolution, a power of attorney and a “No objection letter from the Department of Free Zones”.
• A separate mainland company licensed by SEDD, owned by the Hamriyah company or its shareholders.
• A mainland distributor or agent who imports your goods through customs.

For branches in Dubai or other emirates, ask that emirate’s economic department for its rules on branches of Sharjah free zone companies before committing.

Renewal and ongoing compliance in the Hamriyah Free Zone

• Licence and lease: renewed yearly (office leases “renewable annually”; land on a 25-year renewable lease paid yearly).
• Hamriyah Free Zone visa renewals: renew each residence through HFZA and ICP before expiry; cancel before staff leave. See our grace period guide.
• Beneficial owners: keep registers current and notify HFZA of changes.
• AML: HFZA publishes an AML compliance page; designated businesses must register on goAML.
• Audit: HFZA’s public pages do not state a general audit rule; audited financial statements are required for the 0% corporate tax rate.
• Corporate tax and VAT returns: corporate tax return within nine months of the year end.
• Penalties: HFZA publishes no penalty schedule; ask for it with your quotation.

Hamriyah Free Zone: pros and cons

Who Hamriyah Free Zone company setup suits

• Oil and gas service, storage and trading companies.
• Steel fabricators, building materials and heavy manufacturers.
• Shipbuilders, ship repairers and marine suppliers who need the sea.
• Food manufacturers and packagers.
• Logistics firms needing large warehouses and many visas.
• Small traders who want a cheap office package with a general trading licence and Sharjah residence.

Who should look elsewhere

• Air freight, gold and precious metals: SAIF Zone.
• Media, content and freelancers: Shams.
• Technology and research: SRTIP.
• Dubai customers and a Dubai visa with land and port: JAFZA.

Hamriyah Free Zone company setup: worked cases

These cases are built from the situations we see most often. Names and identifying details are left out, and the figures are the published ones.

Case 1: a steel fabricator choosing a Hamriyah Free Zone warehouse

A fabricator needed space for cutting and welding and about 35 visas. A 400 sqm Hamriyah Free Zone warehouse carried 40 visas under HFZA’s published quota, with power options of 50 or 100 kW. The quotation showed the published warehouse lines (licence AED 3,500 and service fee AED 5,000 a year, AED 9,000 incorporation, AED 5,000 deposit) plus rent, which HFZA quotes separately. Workers were housed in HFZA’s labour accommodation.

Case 2: a small general trader

A single founder wanted to trade a wide range of goods with two staff. HFZA’s Smart Business Package 4 offers general trading on a 10 sqm office with 7 visas for one to five shareholders. A Deluxe package offered fewer visas and fewer categories. We asked HFZA for both prices in writing and compared the year-two renewal as well as the first-year cost.

Case 3: a foreign oil services group opening a branch

An overseas oilfield services company wanted a Hamriyah Free Zone branch with a yard. It needed the parent licence, certificate of incorporation, Memorandum and Articles and a board resolution naming the director, manager and signatory. The parent documents were legalised in the home country, by the UAE embassy and by UAE MOFA before filing. Hazardous materials storage brought Sharjah Civil Defence into the approvals.

Case 4: a food manufacturer weighing land against a warehouse

A food producer compared a 600 sqm Hamriyah Free Zone warehouse (50 visas) with a 2,500 sqm plot. The warehouse was ready at once; the plot gave room to grow, a 25-year lease and a rent holiday during construction, but meant design and building approvals first. The producer started in the warehouse and reserved land for phase two.

What circulates online about the Hamriyah Free Zone that is not true

How to verify every figure in this guide

Hamriyah Free Zone company setup: how MIRDXB PRO helps

MIRDXB PRO is an independent PRO and company formation consultancy in Al Barsha 1, Dubai. We are not HFZA and not an official HFZA agent; HFZA does not list us. We work on your side: we check the plan, prepare the file and run the government steps.

What we do

• Match your activity to the right HFZA licence and package, and check whether an office, a Hamriyah Free Zone warehouse or a plot fits your visa count.
• Advise on FZE, FZC, branch or subsidiary.
• Prepare documents and run attestation and translation of parent company papers.
• Follow the licence, security approval, establishment card and each Hamriyah Free Zone visa through ICP to Emirates ID.
• Prepare the bank pack and register the company for corporate tax and, where needed, VAT.
• Keep renewals and beneficial owner filings on a calendar.

How it works

1. Message us on WhatsApp with your activity, shareholders, space and visa count.
2. We reply in writing with the recommended structure, the lines to request on your HFZA quotation and our fee.
3. You approve; we collect documents and file with HFZA.
4. After the licence, we run visas, the bank pack and tax registration.

What it costs

HFZA, ICP and other government fees are passed on at cost, with receipts. Our own fee is quoted in writing before we start. See our fees page.

Why founders use us

• We cite the official source for every rule we rely on.
• We work across Dubai and Sharjah, GDRFA and ICP, and have no stake in any zone.
• We handle visas, Emirates ID, medical tests, attestation and tax registration too.
• Our Al Barsha 1 office is open Monday to Thursday and Saturday 09:00 to 18:00, and Friday 09:00 to 12:00.

To start, see our business setup service or message us. For visas on an existing free zone company, see our free zone visa service.

What we will and will not do

• We will show you HFZA’s quotation and receipts and the source for each rule.
• We will tell you if another zone or the mainland fits better.
• We will quote our fee in writing before we start.
• We will not promise approvals, a bank account or processing times that HFZA, ICP, a regulator or a bank controls.
• We will not present ourselves as HFZA or an official HFZA agent.
• We will not give tax or legal opinions; we work alongside your tax adviser.

Related guides

• Sharjah free zones
• SAIF Zone company setup
• Sharjah Publishing City free zone
• Sharjah Healthcare City free zone
• JAFZA company setup
• Free zones in the UAE
• Free zone vs mainland
• ICP smart services guide

Keeping a Hamriyah company’s visas, renewals and filings on schedule is what our PRO services in Dubai team handles.