This page compares four Sharjah free zones: SPC Free Zone, SHAMS, SAIF Zone and SRTIP. First Idea Consultant LLC sets up companies in SPC Free Zone, which publishes a starting figure of AED 5,750 for a one-year licence with no visa and up to five activities, and AED 6,875 for activities in its Standard category (SPC Free Zone published, checked 21 September 2026). SHAMS, SAIF Zone and SRTIP set their own fees. Send your business activity and visa count on WhatsApp and you get an itemised written quote. For company, visa and bank account together, Premium covers company, one residence visa and business bank account opening assistance: AED 28,136 at Meydan or AED 28,436 at IFZA in Dubai.
Bank account opening is subject to each bank’s KYC, compliance review and final approval. We prepare the file, pre-check it against the bank’s requirements, and if one bank declines we apply to the next.
By First Idea Consultant. Reviewed by Amir Aslam, Founder. Updated September 2026.
Send my activity and visa count to Amir on WhatsApp
Company, visa and bank account together: ask Amir on WhatsApp
SPC first: the four Sharjah free zones compared
| Zone | Where it is | Who it suits | Licence, no visa | Visa route | Facility options | How First Idea handles it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPC Free Zone (Sharjah Publishing City) | Al Zahia, Sharjah | E-commerce, publishing, media, trading and services | Starting figure AED 5,750 for a one-year licence with no visa and up to 5 business activities; AED 6,875 where the activities sit in SPC’s Standard category (SPC Free Zone published, pay-as-you-go page and business activities list, checked 21 September 2026) | Visa allocation, establishment card, e-channel registration, investor visa with Emirates ID, change of status and medical test are separate pay-as-you-go items (SPC Free Zone published) | Coworking space, furnished and unfurnished offices, retail, storage, shell and core, warehouse (SPC Free Zone published) | We set up SPC Free Zone companies. Send your business activity and visa count on WhatsApp and you get an itemised written quote. |
| SHAMS (Sharjah Media City) | Sharjah | Media, digital services, creative businesses, freelancers and consultancies | Priced by SHAMS. Its cost calculator carries the line “The prices provided are estimates only” and asks you to contact its advisers for an exact cost (SHAMS published, checked 21 September 2026) | Up to 50 visas per licence (SHAMS published); its calculator lists e-channel registration, Emirates ID typing, the immigration card and investor or employee visas, with the medical paid directly to the medical centre | Co-working space with a lease agreement, listed among the items its calculator includes (SHAMS published) | Priced by SHAMS. No First Idea figure. |
| SAIF Zone (Sharjah Airport International Free Zone) | At Sharjah International Airport | Trading, logistics, light industrial and warehousing | Priced by SAIF Zone. No published SAIF Zone figure or rule could be verified on 21 September 2026, so none is printed here | Set by SAIF Zone | Set by SAIF Zone | Priced by SAIF Zone. No First Idea figure. |
| SRTIP (Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park, which its site now calls SPark) | Next to University City, Sharjah (srtip.ae, checked 21 September 2026) | Technology, research and development, industrial and consultancy businesses | Priced by SRTIP. It issues commercial, service, industrial and consultancy licences plus research and innovation permits, and offers a “Dual Licensing Option (Freezone & Mainland)” (srtip.ae, checked 21 September 2026) | Set by SRTIP | Offices, research and development labs, coworking and event spaces, as srtip.ae lists them | Priced by SRTIP. No First Idea figure. |
Figures and facts checked on each zone’s own site: SPC Free Zone 21 September 2026, SHAMS 21 September 2026, SRTIP 21 September 2026. SAIF Zone’s website did not return its pages to our checks on 21 September 2026, so no figure or rule is attributed to it anywhere on this page.
SPC Free Zone is where we set up Sharjah free zone companies; its licence groups, visa costs and facilities are on SPC Free Zone.
Hamriyah Free Zone and Sharjah Healthcare City are also Sharjah free zones and sit outside this comparison.
What it costs: SPC’s published fees, then First Idea’s prices
A Sharjah free zone company has two cost sides: what the zone charges, which the zone publishes, and what we charge for doing the work, which goes in your written quote. For SPC Free Zone the components are:
- SPC’s licence fee: the starting figure of AED 5,750 for a one-year licence with no visa and up to five activities, or AED 6,875 where the activities sit in SPC’s Standard category (SPC Free Zone published, checked 21 September 2026)
- the visa allocation, the establishment card, e-channel registration, the investor visa with Emirates ID and the medical test, each a separate SPC item
- change of status, where the owner is already inside the UAE
- the facility you take, from a coworking desk to an office, retail unit, storage or warehouse space
- First Idea’s professional service fee
The itemised SPC fees sit on our SPC Free Zone page, so one page tracks SPC’s changes. Send your business activity and visa count on WhatsApp and you get an itemised written quote.
Company, visa and bank account: the Premium package
The fixed prices we publish are for our two Dubai zones, and they are the like-for-like comparison when a Sharjah quote includes a visa or banking.
| Package (Dubai free zones, priced by First Idea) | What it includes | Meydan | IFZA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | Company only, no visa: licence, MOA, flexi-office address, certificate of registration | AED 12,500 | AED 12,900 |
| Standard | Company plus one residence visa: Basic plus establishment card, medical, Emirates ID, corporate tax registration | AED 23,136 | AED 23,436 |
| Premium | Company, one residence visa and business bank account opening assistance: Standard plus digital business bank account assistance, one personal bank account opening assistance and a digital company stamp | AED 28,136 | AED 28,436 |
Bank account opening is subject to each bank’s KYC, compliance review and final approval. We prepare the file, pre-check it against the bank’s requirements, and if one bank declines we apply to the next.
Premium, total with local bank account (standard business bank account at a local bank, physical presence required): AED 33,136 at Meydan, AED 33,436 at IFZA, itemised on the cost of setting up a business in Dubai page.
Compare an SPC quote that includes a visa with Standard, and one that includes bank account opening assistance with Premium, not with the no-visa licence fee. Every row is on our cost of setting up a business in Dubai page, and side by side in our Dubai company setup packages.
WhatsApp Amir for SPC licence options and a written cost breakdown
Which zone for which activity
The activity decides the zone, not the other way round. SPC Free Zone sorts every activity into one of three groups on its own list, and the group sets the licence price, so the first check is always whether your activity is on that list.
E-commerce and online trading
SPC Free Zone first. On SPC’s business activities list, checked 21 September 2026, retail sale over the internet, e-commerce through websites and e-commerce through social media sit in its Publishing group at AED 5,750, while general trading, brokerage and commercial activities sit in the Standard group at AED 6,875. Your quote confirms which group your chosen activities fall into, because the licence price follows the group.
SHAMS also licenses digital services and online businesses, in its own terms and at its own prices.
Media, publishing and creative
SPC Free Zone is the publishing free zone: book publishing, periodicals, printing, art production and distribution, and media and marketing consultancy all appear on its Publishing list, and SPC names the National Media Authority as the approving body on 181 of its activities (SPC Free Zone business activities list, checked 21 September 2026). An activity that names an approving body needs that approval before the licence issues.
SHAMS is Sharjah Media City and licenses media, digital and creative businesses on its own terms.
Consultancy and services
Consultancy activities sit mostly in SPC’s Standard group at AED 6,875, while many IT, computer, media, marketing, education and technical consultancy activities sit in its Publishing group at AED 5,750 (SPC Free Zone published, checked 21 September 2026). SHAMS and SRTIP also license consultancy: SRTIP says it issues commercial, service, industrial and consultancy licences (srtip.ae, checked 21 September 2026). Each of the three prices that licence itself.
Trading with a warehouse
SAIF Zone, the Sharjah Airport International Free Zone, is the airport-side option for goods that need cargo handling or a warehouse, and it prices its own licences and facilities. SPC Free Zone lists storage and warehouse units on its pay-as-you-go page, and warehousing and storage activities sit in its Standard group (SPC Free Zone published, checked 21 September 2026). Where the goods move by air, ask SAIF Zone directly for its terms.
Industrial, research and development
SRTIP issues industrial and research licences and specialist research and innovation permits, and lists research and development labs among its facilities (srtip.ae, checked 21 September 2026). Its dual licensing option covers free zone and mainland work. SAIF Zone covers light industrial. Hamriyah Free Zone, which offers industrial land and pre-built warehouses (hfza.ae, checked 21 September 2026), is outside this page’s scope.
Visas, offices and the bank account
How many visas a licence supports depends on the zone and the facility you take, and the zone confirms it at application. SPC Free Zone sells the visa allocation, establishment card, e-channel registration, investor visa with Emirates ID and medical test as separate items, so each one is a line in your written quote. SHAMS publishes a different rule: up to 50 visas per licence (SHAMS published, checked 21 September 2026).
On offices, SHAMS lists a co-working space with a lease agreement among the items its calculator includes; SPC prices furnished and unfurnished offices, retail, storage, shell and core and warehouse space on its pay-as-you-go page, with the rates on our SPC page; SAIF Zone and SRTIP price offices, warehouses, land and labs themselves.
Bank account opening is subject to each bank’s KYC, compliance review and final approval. We prepare the file, pre-check it against the bank’s requirements, and if one bank declines we apply to the next. If you want company, visa and bank account in one package, Premium is company, one residence visa and business bank account opening assistance, at AED 28,136 at Meydan or AED 28,436 at IFZA.
The facility matters to the file. Some banks look at a coworking or flexi desk licence differently from a dedicated office lease, so the facility you choose becomes part of the bank file, and we say so before you pick one. See our bank account opening assistance.
Timeline and documents
Each zone publishes its own issuance time, and we quote it only as that zone’s claim. SRTIP says that with all documents in place, most companies can secure the licence, register with the authorities and move into an office or lab “in as little as five working days” (srtip.ae, checked 21 September 2026). After the licence, a residence visa adds the entry permit or change of status, the medical test and the Emirates ID, each with its own appointment. The stage dates for your file are in the written quote.
SPC completes registration, amendments and licence renewal through its own online portal (SPC Free Zone published, checked 21 September 2026), so the paperwork is filed rather than queued at a counter.
| Document | Who asks for it | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Passport copy | SPC Free Zone, for every shareholder, director and manager | SHAMS and SRTIP collect it at application on their own forms |
| UAE residence visa copy and Emirates ID | SPC Free Zone, where the person is a UAE resident or national | Only for residents and nationals; a non-resident provides the passport copy |
| No objection certificate from the current sponsor | SRTIP, where you are a UAE resident or under an existing visa sponsor | SRTIP says most foreign investors do not need one. SHAMS publishes “No NOC Required” for applicants who are already employed |
| Proposed company name and business activities | All zones | SPC runs a name check before the application; two or three name options save a round trip |
| Shareholding details | SPC Free Zone, where a company is a shareholder | Part of SPC’s company documents list |
| Memorandum and articles of association, certificate of incorporation | SPC Free Zone, for corporate shareholders and branches | Parent company documents are added for a branch or a subsidiary |
| Ultimate beneficial owner declaration | SPC Free Zone, at setup | SPC asks for anyone owning or controlling 25% or more, and for changes to be reported |
| Third party approval for a regulated activity | SPC Free Zone, per activity | SPC’s list names the approving body, such as the National Media Authority on publishing activities |
Foreign corporate documents are normally attested before filing. We confirm the current requirement for your country with the zone before you pay for attestation.
Sharjah free zone licence renewal: what year two costs
A Sharjah free zone licence is renewed every year. Year two brings the zone’s licence renewal fee, the facility lease, the establishment card renewal, and any residence visa that falls due on its own cycle. The zone sets its renewal fee, and we show it here only when the zone publishes it. No professional service fee on licence renewals; government and authority fees still apply. Send your business activity and visa count on WhatsApp and you get an itemised written quote.
SPC handles renewals through its online portal (SPC Free Zone published, checked 21 September 2026). SPC’s pay-as-you-go page showed no renewal figure on 21 September 2026, so none is printed here.
Send your licence and expiry date to Amir on WhatsApp
For the Dubai side, see trade license renewal dubai. Mainland licences and their renewals stay on our sharjah mainland license page.
Sharjah free zone or a Dubai free zone
| Option | Licence, no visa | With one residence visa | Priced by |
|---|---|---|---|
| SPC Free Zone (Sharjah) | Starting figure AED 5,750, or AED 6,875 for Standard category activities, one-year licence (SPC Free Zone published, checked 21 September 2026) | SPC’s visa items plus our fee, in an itemised written quote | SPC publishes the licence; First Idea quotes the rest |
| SHAMS (Sharjah) | Priced by SHAMS; its calculator gives estimates only (checked 21 September 2026) | Priced by SHAMS | SHAMS |
| Meydan Free Zone (Dubai) | AED 12,500 Basic | AED 23,136 Standard | First Idea |
| IFZA (Dubai) | AED 12,900 Basic | AED 23,436 Standard | First Idea |
Premium, with business bank account opening assistance, is in the price block above.
A Dubai address matters to some clients and to some banks, and that is the practical reason buyers pay more for a Dubai licence. A Sharjah free zone company and a Dubai free zone company pay tax under the same federal rules. 0% personal income tax. Corporate tax is 9% only on profit above AED 375,000, and registration is included in every package from Standard upward.
Read more on meydan free zone and ifza free zone.
How First Idea sets up an SPC Free Zone company
- Activity check against SPC’s activity list. We check your activity, its group and any approving body before a fee is paid. If SPC does not license your activity, we say so and compare Meydan and IFZA instead.
- Trade name and initial approval with SPC Free Zone. Two or three name options, checked and reserved through SPC’s name check.
- Documents, then payment of SPC’s fees. Passports, resident documents where they apply, corporate documents for a branch or corporate shareholder, and the ultimate beneficial owner declaration.
- Licence and establishment card. SPC issues the licence and formation documents; the establishment card and e-channel registration follow.
- Residence visa and business bank account opening assistance. Visa allocation, entry permit or change of status, medical test and Emirates ID, then the bank file. Bank account opening is subject to each bank’s KYC, compliance review and final approval. We prepare the file, pre-check it against the bank’s requirements, and if one bank declines we apply to the next.
Amir Aslam, Founder, reviews the zone choice before anything is filed. Meetings are at Office 812, ParkLane Tower, Park Regis, Business Bay, Dubai; phone and WhatsApp +971 56 500 6694. First Idea Consultant LLC has been setting up UAE companies since 2015.
Ask Amir about a Sharjah free zone company on WhatsApp
Related guides: business setup in Ras Al Khaimah and free zone visa in Dubai.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Sharjah free zone licence cost?
Each zone sets its own licence fee. SPC Free Zone publishes a starting figure of AED 5,750 for a one-year licence with no visa and up to five business activities, and AED 6,875 where the activities sit in its Standard category (SPC Free Zone published, checked 21 September 2026). SHAMS, SAIF Zone and SRTIP set their own fees, and a resident owner adds SPC’s visa allocation, establishment card, e-channel registration, visa and medical test on top of the licence. Send your business activity and visa count on WhatsApp and you get an itemised written quote.
Which is the most affordable free zone in Sharjah?
On 21 September 2026, SPC Free Zone was the only one of the four zones on this page publishing a licence figure we could verify on its own website: AED 5,750 as its starting figure, AED 6,875 for Standard category activities. SHAMS states that its calculator gives estimates only, SRTIP prices on application, and no SAIF Zone figure could be verified that day. Remember that a headline figure is for a licence with no visa: compare an SPC quote with one visa against Standard, company plus one residence visa, at AED 23,136 at Meydan or AED 23,436 at IFZA. Our cheapest free zone license in UAE page compares entry prices across the country.
What does a Sharjah free zone company with a visa and a bank account cost?
For SPC Free Zone the licence, the visa items and the bank file are separate lines, and they are itemised in a written quote rather than sold as one figure. For comparison, Premium, company, one residence visa and business bank account opening assistance, is AED 28,136 at Meydan or AED 28,436 at IFZA. Bank account opening is subject to each bank’s KYC, compliance review and final approval. We prepare the file, pre-check it against the bank’s requirements, and if one bank declines we apply to the next.
What does Sharjah free zone licence renewal cost?
Year two is the zone’s renewal fee, the facility lease, the establishment card and any visa falling due on its own cycle, and the zone quotes its own renewal fees. No professional service fee on licence renewals; government and authority fees still apply. Send your business activity and visa count on WhatsApp and you get an itemised written quote. For a Dubai licence, see trade license renewal dubai.
How long does company formation in a Sharjah free zone take?
Each zone publishes its own issuance time, which we quote only as that zone’s claim: SRTIP says most companies can secure the licence, register and move into an office or lab “in as little as five working days” once documents are in place (srtip.ae, checked 21 September 2026). A residence visa adds the entry permit or change of status, the medical test and the Emirates ID after the licence, and the stage dates come in the written quote. The core documents are a passport copy for each shareholder, director and manager, the UAE visa copy and Emirates ID for a resident, and a no objection certificate only where the zone asks for one: SRTIP says most foreign investors do not need one, and SHAMS says applicants who are already employed do not.
Can a Sharjah free zone company do business in Dubai?
A free zone company serves clients outside the UAE and, within its zone’s rules and its licensed activity, customers online. Goods sold to mainland customers usually move through a mainland distributor, or through a dual licence where the zone offers one: SRTIP publishes a “Dual Licensing Option (Freezone & Mainland)” (srtip.ae, checked 21 September 2026). A Dubai office address needs a Dubai licence, which is where meydan free zone and IFZA come in. Check the rule for your activity with your zone before you sign a client contract.
Can I open a bank account with a Sharjah free zone licence?
Bank account opening is subject to each bank’s KYC, compliance review and final approval. We prepare the file, pre-check it against the bank’s requirements, and if one bank declines we apply to the next. If you want the account opening assistance inside a company package, Premium covers company, one residence visa and business bank account opening assistance at AED 28,136 at Meydan or AED 28,436 at IFZA. One practical point: some banks look at a coworking or flexi desk licence differently from a dedicated office lease, so choose the facility with the bank file in mind.
SAIF Zone or SPC Free Zone for a trading company?
SPC Free Zone suits online trade and trading handled through third party logistics, and it publishes its licence figures on its own website. SAIF Zone, priced by SAIF Zone, is the option where goods need a warehouse or airport-side cargo handling. No SAIF Zone figure or capital rule is printed here because none could be verified on 21 September 2026, so ask SAIF Zone for its current capital, licence and facility terms in writing before you compare the two.
Send us your business activity and how many visas you need. Amir comes back with SPC Free Zone licence options and a written cost breakdown, and we reply on WhatsApp within a couple of hours.
WhatsApp Amir about a Sharjah free zone company
First Idea Consultant LLC, Office 812, ParkLane Tower, Park Regis, Business Bay, Dubai. Call or WhatsApp +971 56 500 6694. Amir Aslam, Founder. Our reviews are on our Google Business Profile.
