Where is Hamriyah Free Zone?

Hamriyah Free Zone is in the Emirate of Sharjah, on the Arabian Gulf coast north of Sharjah city and next to the border with Ajman and Umm Al Quwain. It has its own port with a 14-metre-deep outer harbour and a 7-metre-deep inner harbour, direct road links to the other emirates, and access to Sharjah International Airport.

Can I get a Hamriyah Free Zone licence without an office?

Not a virtual-only licence. HFZA says it doesn't issue a licence with your office outside the free zone. It does offer low-cost options inside the zone: a Start Up Business package with one visa and no stated office area, E-Office packages and desks at Hamriyah Business Centre, from which you can upgrade to an office, warehouse or plot.

Do Hamriyah Free Zone companies pay corporate tax?

Yes, they're within UAE corporate tax and must register within 3 months of incorporation. HFZA is a qualifying and designated free zone, so a company that meets every Qualifying Free Zone Person condition pays 0% on qualifying income — such as manufacturing, processing, logistics or distribution from a designated zone — and 9% on other taxable income.

How long does it take to set up in Hamriyah Free Zone?

HFZA says it can issue a licence within one hour once all documents are submitted. The full process — lease signing, establishment card, immigration e-channel account, then visas with medicals and Emirates ID — usually takes a few weeks. Land plots take longer because you design and build your own facility.

Hamriyah Free Zone or SAIF Zone — which is better?

Both are Sharjah government free zones with one-hour licensing and land from 2,500 sq m. Hamriyah suits port-dependent, heavy and marine industries thanks to its deep-water port and 30 million sq m of land. SAIF Zone sits beside Sharjah International Airport, which suits air-freight-heavy trading and light assembly. Compare written quotes for the same facility and visa count.

Business registration & legal

Hamriyah Free Zone (HFZA) in 2026: Licences, Costs, Facilities and How to Set Up

Hamriyah Free Zone (HFZA) Sharjah in 2026: licence types, the AED 11,000 basic licence, office, warehouse and land options, setup steps, visas and corporate tax.

Edited by Sumeet YadavFounder & editor, MSMETOOLS · fact-checked against official sources

Updated October 2026 Verified against official sources 7 October 2026 13 min read

Hamriyah Free Zone guide — MSMETOOLS guide cover

Contents (10)

1. What Hamriyah Free Zone is — and who it suits
2. Licence types and legal forms
3. Facilities: offices, warehouses and land
4. What Hamriyah Free Zone costs
5. How to set up a company in Hamriyah Free Zone
6. Visas for Hamriyah Free Zone companies
7. Corporate tax and VAT in Hamriyah Free Zone
8. Hamriyah vs SAIF Zone vs Ajman Free Zone
9. Common mistakes to avoid
10. What to do next

Planning a factory, a ship-repair yard, a food-processing line or a regional warehouse in the UAE? Hamriyah Free Zone in Sharjah is built for exactly that kind of business. This guide is for manufacturers, traders and logistics firms comparing UAE free zones. You'll get what the Hamriyah Free Zone Authority (HFZA) itself publishes — licence types, legal forms, the published basic licence cost, the office, warehouse and land options with their visa allocations — plus the setup steps, the corporate tax position and a straight comparison with SAIF Zone and Ajman Free Zone.

Quick answer

Hamriyah Free Zone is Sharjah's large industrial and port free zone, run by HFZA since 1995. It issues commercial (trading, general trading, e-commerce), service and industrial licences to FZEs, FZCs and branches, with full foreign ownership. HFZA's FAQ lists the basic licence cost as AED 11,000; facility rent and visas come on top. Setup can be licensed in about an hour once documents are complete.

Facilities are lease-only: offices from 10 sq m, pre-built warehouses of 200–600 sq m, land plots from 2,500 sq m
Land leases run 25 years, renewable, with fixed rates for the first five years
Own port: 14 m outer harbour, 7 m inner harbour
Corporate tax: 0% on qualifying income for a Qualifying Free Zone Person, 9% otherwise; register within 3 months

What Hamriyah Free Zone is — and who it suits

HFZA was established in 1995 by Emiri Decree and sits on the Gulf coast of Sharjah, north of Sharjah city. It describes itself as one of the UAE's largest industrial free zones, with 30 million square metres of industrial land and its own deep-water port.

HFZA organises the zone into six sectors:

Industrial Manufacturing Park — fabrication, assembly, plastics, building materials.
Global Logistics Park — warehousing, distribution and freight.
Oil & Gas — supply bases, fabrication yards and equipment.
Maritime Industry — ship repair, marine services and waterfront plots.
Food Park — food processing and cold storage.
Accelerator Hub — smaller service and trading start-ups.

Who it suits: businesses that need space and a port — a steel fabricator importing plate by sea, a lubricants blender, a marine-supply company, a re-exporter shipping to East Africa or the Indian subcontinent. Who it suits less: a solo consultant who mainly needs a Dubai address and client meetings; a Dubai-based commercial free zone such as Meydan Free Zone is usually a better fit.

Road inside Hamriyah Free Zone in Sharjah with palm trees, an office building and industrial chimneys under a cloudy sky — Inside Hamriyah Free Zone: offices, warehouses and heavy industry share one gated zone on the Sharjah coast.· Image: JoshilJose (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Licence types and legal forms

HFZA issues three families of licence. Additional activities not listed can be approved case by case.

Licence	What it allows	Typical users
Commercial — Trading	Import, export, sell, distribute and store the items named on the licence	Building-materials or spare-parts traders
Commercial — General trading	Import and export of an unlimited range of products	Multi-category re-exporters
Commercial — E-commerce	Trading goods and services over electronic networks	Online sellers holding stock in the zone
Service	The services or consultancy listed on the licence	Marine surveyors, logistics agents, IT services
Industrial	Import raw materials to manufacture, process or assemble named products, then pack and export them	Factories, blending plants, food processors

You then choose a legal status:

FZE (Free Zone Establishment): a limited liability entity with one shareholder — an individual or a company.
FZC (Free Zone Company): a limited liability company with two or more shareholders.
Branch or subsidiary: of a UAE mainland company or a company incorporated outside the UAE.

No local partner is needed, and HFZA lists full foreign ownership and 100% repatriation of capital and profits among its investor benefits. Shareholders can also hold stakes in other companies inside or outside the zone.

Facilities: offices, warehouses and land

Every HFZA licence is tied to a facility in the zone. HFZA says facilities can only be leased, not bought, and it doesn't issue licences for businesses whose office is outside the zone. Here's the office package ladder HFZA publishes — area, shareholders, activities and visa allocation (prices are quoted on request):

HFZA office packages as published (read 7 October 2026)

Package	Office area	Shareholders	Activities	Visas
Start Up Business	Not stated	1	3 product categories or 3 services	1
Smart Business 1–4	10 sq m	1 to 1–5	3 to 10 categories/services	4 to 7
Deluxe Business 1–5	12–16 sq m	1 to 1–5	3 to 10 categories/services	2 to 7
Standard Business 1–2	15–20 sq m	1–5	5 products, 10 categories or 5 services	7 to 8
Supreme Business 1–3	25–40 sq m	1–5	5 products, 10 categories or 5 services	8 to 12

Start Up Business

Office area: Not stated
Shareholders: 1
Activities: 3 product categories or 3 services
Visas: 1

Smart Business 1–4

Office area: 10 sq m
Shareholders: 1 to 1–5
Activities: 3 to 10 categories/services
Visas: 4 to 7

Deluxe Business 1–5

Office area: 12–16 sq m
Shareholders: 1 to 1–5
Activities: 3 to 10 categories/services
Visas: 2 to 7

Standard Business 1–2

Office area: 15–20 sq m
Shareholders: 1–5
Activities: 5 products, 10 categories or 5 services
Visas: 7 to 8

Supreme Business 1–3

Office area: 25–40 sq m
Shareholders: 1–5
Activities: 5 products, 10 categories or 5 services
Visas: 8 to 12

HFZA notes that package rates vary with the number of product categories or service activities you choose. Smaller businesses can also start at Hamriyah Business Centre or with an E-Office package.

Pre-built warehouses

HFZA's prefabricated warehouses come in 200, 400 and 600 sq m sizes, with an office, reception, toilets and pantry built in. They're 7 or 9 metres high, have power loads from 20 kW to 150 kW, roller doors and a loading bay, and integrated fire alarms and sprinklers — suited to light and medium industry and storage.

Industrial land

For your own factory, HFZA leases plots from 2,500 sq m on a 25 years renewable lease, with land rates fixed for the first five years. You can build on up to 60% of the plot. Plots connect to the zone's power, water, telecoms and waste networks, with 24-hour security and dedicated labour accommodation nearby — HFZA's site describes accommodation in Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the zone.

What Hamriyah Free Zone costs

HFZA publishes one headline figure: its FAQ gives the basic cost for a licence as AED 11,000 (USD 3,000). The page carries no date; we read it on 7 October 2026. HFZA doesn't publish a full rate card for offices, warehouses, land or visas online — it quotes packages through its sales team.

So budget by component rather than trusting a single "package price" from an agent's website:

First-year cost components to get quoted in writing

0/9

Worked example (framework, not a quote): a two-shareholder FZC starting a general trading business with a Deluxe-type office and two visas would pay the licence, the office lease, two sets of visa costs (entry permit, medical, Emirates ID, stamping), the establishment card and deposits. Ask HFZA for those exact lines, then compare the total — not the headline — with the zones below. Our startup cost calculator helps you add the runway you'll need on top.

How to set up a company in Hamriyah Free Zone

HFZA runs setup through four in-house departments, and says it can issue a licence within one hour once all documents are in.

Setting up in Hamriyah Free Zone (2026)

1
Choose licence, legal form and facility
Pick commercial, service or industrial; FZE, FZC or branch; and an office, warehouse or plot. Submit your enquiry and documents to HFZA's Commercial Department.
HFZA — set up a business
2
Sign the lease and receive the licence
Leasing, Licensing & Legal Affairs issues the trade licence and lease agreement and hands over the facility.
3
Get security approval and the establishment card
Investor Services applies for security approval and your establishment (immigration) card — needed before any visa.
4
Open your e-channel account and process visas
Immigration: open the e-channel account, apply for each visa, complete the medical test, Emirates ID and visa stamping.
5
Register for corporate tax (and VAT if needed)
Register with the Federal Tax Authority for corporate tax within 3 months of incorporation. Register for VAT once taxable supplies pass AED 375,000.
Tip: Late corporate tax registration carries a AED 10,000 penalty.

Documents HFZA asks for

For an FZE or FZC: copies of each shareholder's and manager's passport, and their UAE visit visa — or, if they already hold a UAE employment visa, an attested no-objection letter from the current sponsor.

For a branch or subsidiary: the parent company's licence, certificate of incorporation and memorandum and articles of association, plus a board resolution to open in HFZA naming the director, manager and authorised signatory, with their passport and visa copies.

Visas for Hamriyah Free Zone companies

Your visa quota comes from your facility. On HFZA's published office ladder that runs from 1 visa (Start Up Business) to 12 visas (Supreme Business 3), and HFZA sets the allocation for warehouses and plots in your quote, so ask for it in writing. HFZA advertises a flexible visa quota and more than 300 online services for visas and renewals.

Each employee or investor visa follows the same chain: entry permit (or in-country status change), medical fitness test, Emirates ID biometrics and visa stamping. Because Hamriyah is industrial, many tenants also use the zone's on-site labour accommodation for factory and warehouse workers — check the lease terms and availability before you commit to a headcount.

Jack-up oil rig and support vessels moored at Port Khalid on the Sharjah coast — Sharjah's coast serves the offshore oil and gas and marine trades — two of the sectors Hamriyah Free Zone targets with waterfront plots and its own deep-water port.· Image: Basil D Soufi (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Corporate tax and VAT in Hamriyah Free Zone

HFZA's older "why HFZA" page still says "no corporate and income taxes". That predates the UAE's federal corporate tax, which applies to financial years starting on or after 1 June 2023. HFZA's own corporate tax page now confirms that Hamriyah is a designated and qualifying free zone.

What that means for a Hamriyah company:

Register for corporate tax within 3 months of incorporation — registration is free.
Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP): 0% on qualifying income, 9% on taxable income that isn't qualifying. You must keep adequate substance in the zone, earn qualifying income, prepare audited financial statements, follow transfer-pricing rules and not elect for standard rates.
Qualifying activities under Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025 include manufacturing, processing, logistics services, trading of qualifying commodities and distribution of goods in or from a designated zone — a close match for Hamriyah's tenant base.
Excluded activities include most transactions with natural persons, banking, insurance and some property activities.
De minimis rule: non-qualifying revenue must stay within 5% of total revenue or AED 5 million, whichever is lower. Fail a condition and you're taxed at standard rates — 0% up to AED 375,000, then 9% — for 5 tax periods.

Example: an HFZA FZE manufactures steel brackets and sells them to a Dubai contractor and to buyers in Oman. If it meets every QFZP condition, profit from those manufacturing sales is qualifying income at 0%. If it also earns AED 200,000 renting a spare warehouse corner to a mainland firm, that income is non-qualifying — fine under the de minimis cap if total revenue is large enough, but taxed at 9% once profits pass the zero band. Model it with our UAE corporate tax calculator.

VAT: HFZA is a VAT designated zone, which can change how goods moving within or between designated zones are treated. Services, and goods sold into the mainland, generally follow standard VAT rules at 5%. Register once taxable supplies pass AED 375,000. Use the UAE VAT calculator for pricing.

Hamriyah vs SAIF Zone vs Ajman Free Zone

Sharjah has two government industrial free zones — Hamriyah and SAIF Zone (Sharjah Airport International Free Zone) — and Ajman Free Zone sits just next door.

Hamriyah, SAIF Zone and Ajman Free Zone compared

	Hamriyah Free Zone	SAIF Zone	Ajman Free Zone
Location advantage	Own deep-water port (14 m / 7 m)	Beside Sharjah International Airport	Beside Ajman Port
Best for	Heavy industry, oil & gas, marine, food processing, bulk logistics	Air-freight trading, light assembly, jewellery	Cost-sensitive trading and services start-ups
Published entry price	Basic licence AED 11,000 (FAQ)	Packages quoted on request	No-visa package AED 5,555 (online calculator)
Land	From 2,500 sq m, 25 years lease	Plots from 2,500 sq m	Limited; mainly offices and warehouses
Setup speed	Licence in about 1 hour	Licence in about 1 hour	Online, quick for packages

Location advantage

Hamriyah Free Zone: Own deep-water port (14 m / 7 m)
SAIF Zone: Beside Sharjah International Airport
Ajman Free Zone: Beside Ajman Port

Best for

Hamriyah Free Zone: Heavy industry, oil & gas, marine, food processing, bulk logistics
SAIF Zone: Air-freight trading, light assembly, jewellery
Ajman Free Zone: Cost-sensitive trading and services start-ups

Published entry price

Hamriyah Free Zone: Basic licence AED 11,000 (FAQ)
SAIF Zone: Packages quoted on request
Ajman Free Zone: No-visa package AED 5,555 (online calculator)

Land

Hamriyah Free Zone: From 2,500 sq m, 25 years lease
SAIF Zone: Plots from 2,500 sq m
Ajman Free Zone: Limited; mainly offices and warehouses

Setup speed

Hamriyah Free Zone: Licence in about 1 hour
SAIF Zone: Licence in about 1 hour
Ajman Free Zone: Online, quick for packages

Rule of thumb: if containers or bulk cargo arrive by sea, look hardest at Hamriyah. If your goods fly in and out, SAIF Zone's airport location matters more. If you mainly need a cheap licence and a desk, start with Ajman Free Zone. For a mainland licence instead, see our UAE business licence guide.

Common mistakes to avoid

Comparing headline prices. A "from AED X" figure rarely includes the facility, visas and deposits. Compare full written quotes.
Under-sizing the facility. Your visa quota follows your space. Upgrading mid-year can mean a new lease.
Assuming 0% tax automatically. QFZP status depends on conditions and activity mix; sales to individuals are generally excluded.
Forgetting mainland rules. A free zone licence doesn't let you open a shop or contract directly on the mainland; that needs a mainland licence, branch or local distributor.
Missing the tax registration window. 3 months from incorporation, or a AED 10,000 penalty.

Official links

What to do next

Decide what you need first — port access, land, a warehouse or just a licence and a desk. Then request written quotes from HFZA and one alternative zone for the same facility size and visa count, and run the numbers through the startup cost calculator. Once you're incorporated, diarise your corporate tax registration and check whether your income will qualify for the 0% rate.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice — confirm on the official source or with a professional.

Frequently asked questions

HFZA's own FAQ gives the basic cost for a licence as AED 11,000 (USD 3,000), read on 7 October 2026. That is the licence only. Your real first-year cost also includes the facility you lease — an office, warehouse or land plot — plus visas, Emirates ID, medicals and deposits. HFZA quotes packages on request, so get a written quote before you budget.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 7 October 2026. Each rate and limit is stored once with its own official source and review date, and official update channels are monitored daily so changes are picked up. How we verify

1.Hamriyah Free Zone — 4 steps for setting up your business — Hamriyah Free Zone Authority · accessed 7 October 2026
2.Hamriyah Free Zone — FAQ — Hamriyah Free Zone Authority · accessed 7 October 2026
3.Hamriyah Free Zone — home and about — Hamriyah Free Zone Authority · accessed 7 October 2026
4.Hamriyah Free Zone — why HFZA — Hamriyah Free Zone Authority · accessed 7 October 2026
5.Hamriyah Free Zone — corporate tax — Hamriyah Free Zone Authority · accessed 7 October 2026
6.Hamriyah Free Zone — discover HFZA — Hamriyah Free Zone Authority · accessed 7 October 2026
7.Corporate Tax registration — Federal Tax Authority (UAE) · accessed 7 October 2026
8.Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025 regarding Qualifying Activities and Excluded Activities — UAE Ministry of Finance · accessed 7 October 2026
9.SAIF Zone — home — Sharjah Airport International Free Zone · accessed 7 October 2026

MSMETOOLS is an independent platform and is not affiliated with any government agency, ministry or department.

We provide tools, guides and information for general educational purposes only. Always refer to official government websites for the latest and most accurate information.