Hamriyah Free Zone is Sharjah’s industrial zone, built around its own deep-water port and a large inner harbour. It is where you go for land, warehousing and heavy activity at costs Jebel Ali does not match — and it is a poor choice for anything that does not need space.
Why businesses choose Hamriyah free zone company setup
- Industrial land at scale — plots for manufacturing, processing and storage, with room to expand
- Deep-water port and inner harbour on site, so cargo does not travel overland to reach a berth
- Lower cost per square metre than the Dubai industrial zones
- Oil, gas, petrochemical and steel clusters already established, which matters for suppliers and workforce
- 100% foreign ownership, full repatriation, and no customs duty on goods held inside the zone
- Proximity to Dubai — close enough that a Dubai-based management team is practical
Who Hamriyah business setup suits
Manufacturers, processors and assemblers; oil, gas and petrochemical services; steel and building materials; heavy trading and distribution operations that need real storage; and logistics businesses handling volume rather than documents.
It suits consultancies and digital businesses badly. You would be paying for an industrial ecosystem you never touch. SHAMS, also in Sharjah, is built for exactly that profile and costs less.
Licence types and legal forms
| Licence | What it permits |
|---|---|
| Industrial | Manufacturing, processing, assembly and packaging within the zone |
| Commercial | Import, export, distribution and storage of specified goods |
| General trading | A wider basket of goods under a single licence |
| Service | Service activities supporting the zone, subject to the approved list |
The legal forms are a Free Zone Establishment (FZE) with one shareholder, a Free Zone Company (FZC) with two or more, and a branch of an existing UAE or foreign company. For a manufacturer with an overseas parent, the branch route and the subsidiary route have different tax and liability consequences — see branch versus subsidiary before you decide.
Choosing the facility
This is the decision that drives your cost, not the licence.
| Facility | Suits | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Executive office or desk | A holding or admin presence | Very limited visa quota |
| Pre-built warehouse | Trading and distribution | Ceiling height and loading access — check before signing |
| Land plot with build | Manufacturing at scale | Build timeline, utilities connection and the capital tied up |
| Labour accommodation | Workforce-heavy operations | The input VAT position changed on 1 October 2026 |
Visa quota follows facility size in most UAE industrial zones, so if headcount matters, work backwards from the number of visas you need rather than forwards from the licence.
Selling into the UAE market
A Hamriyah company sells freely outside the UAE and into other free zones. Selling into the UAE mainland means customs duty at the point the goods leave the zone, and in most cases a mainland distributor or a mainland entity of your own.
For manufacturers whose market is domestic, that duty is a real cost that should go into the model at the start. Our guide to UAE customs duty and import tax sets out how it works, and mainland formation is sometimes the cheaper structure once you count it.
Formation process
- Settle the activity and the facility together — industrial activities often need external approvals that add weeks.
- Reserve the name and obtain initial approval.
- Sign the lease for the warehouse, plot or office.
- Incorporation documents, licence issue, establishment card and visa quota.
- Bank account. Start this early; an industrial file with real contracts is a strong application, but it is not a fast one.
- Register for corporate tax and for VAT.
Corporate tax, audit and stock
A Hamriyah licence does not exempt you from UAE corporate tax. You register, you file. The 0% rate requires Qualifying Free Zone Person status, and that requires audited financial statements among other conditions.
For an industrial or trading business the audit turns on one thing more than any other: stock. A year-end count that nobody attended, or a valuation that ignores duty and freight in the cost of inventory, is the most common reason a manufacturer’s accounts get qualified. Our guide to inventory valuation and stock counts covers what the auditor will actually test, and our audit team does this work in-house.
Annual obligations
- Licence and facility renewal each year.
- Accounting records that support a return — see accounting and bookkeeping.
- Corporate tax return within nine months of your financial year end.
- Audited accounts where the zone requires them or where you claim 0%.
- VAT returns, and payroll and WPS once you have staff on the ground.
Hamriyah against the alternatives
| If you need | Consider |
|---|---|
| Industrial land with port access, at cost | Hamriyah |
| Industrial land and RAK logistics | RAKEZ |
| East coast shipping outside the Strait of Hormuz | Fujairah Free Zone |
| A Dubai address and premium commodity trading | DMCC |
| Low-cost consultancy or media licence | SHAMS or Creative City |
Getting started
Tell us what you are making or storing, how much space it needs and how many people. Facility and headcount drive the cost far more than the licence does, and we would rather size those properly than quote you a number that changes.
Frequently asked questions
In Sharjah, on the Arabian Gulf coast, built around its own deep-water port and inner harbour. It is roughly 30 to 40 minutes from central Dubai depending on traffic, which makes Dubai-based management practical.
Industrial, commercial, general trading and service licences, subject to the approved activity list. Legal forms are a Free Zone Establishment with one shareholder, a Free Zone Company with two or more, and a branch of an existing company.
Generally yes on land and facility cost per square metre, which is the main reason industrial businesses look at it. Whether it is cheaper overall depends on where your cargo moves and whether you will be selling into the UAE mainland.
Not directly. Goods leaving the zone for the mainland attract customs duty, and you will generally need a mainland distributor or a mainland entity of your own. If the domestic market is your main target, model that duty before choosing the zone.
Visa quota follows facility size in most UAE industrial zones, so it is driven by the space you lease rather than the licence you hold. If headcount matters, work backwards from the visas you need.
Audited accounts are required where the zone asks for them at renewal, and in all cases where you claim Qualifying Free Zone Person status for the 0% rate. For industrial businesses the audit turns heavily on stock - the count and the valuation basis.
Not really. You would be paying for an industrial ecosystem you never use. SHAMS, also in Sharjah, is built for consultancy and media work and costs considerably less.
Both are Sharjah free zones. Hamriyah is built around its port and heavy industry with large land plots. SAIF Zone sits beside Sharjah International Airport and leans towards air freight, light industry and trading. The right one follows how your goods move.