SPC Free Zone
Company Setup
Set up your UAE company in SPC Free Zone from AED 5,750 with 100% foreign ownership, no paid-up share capital, and a lease agreement included.
Get your business license in under an hour through SPC's Instant License route. Wise Cat handles the application and helps you through the visa, Emirates ID, and business banking process.
SPC Free Zone at a Glance
What SPC Free Zone Actually Is
Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone is a subsidiary of the Sharjah Book Authority, launched in 2017 as the world's first free zone built for the print and publishing industry. That parentage still matters — it's why SPC is the only UAE free zone wired into the publishing ecosystem — but the zone long outgrew its original brief.
Today SPC licenses more than 2,000 activities across e-commerce, general trading, IT, consultancy, marketing, education and logistics.
The UAE Ministry of Economy & Tourism lists SPC as authorized to issue a dual license, covering both free zone and Sharjah mainland operations — a permission most free zones do not hold.
For most founders, SPC is a low-cost, fast, remote-friendly UAE license with an unusually flexible visa allocation. For publishers, it's something more specific.
Before You Choose: Two Things the Other SPC Pages Won't Tell You
"0% corporate tax" is no longer accurate on its own
Almost every SPC page online still advertises 0% corporate tax as a flat benefit. That stopped being true in 2023.
Under Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, UAE corporate tax applies to free zone companies too. A free zone company pays 0% only if it qualifies as a Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP) — and even then, only on its Qualifying Income. Everything else is taxed at 9%, with no AED 375,000 relief band applied to that portion.
Holding QFZP status means maintaining adequate substance in the zone, keeping non-qualifying revenue under the de minimis limit, applying arm's-length pricing to related parties, not electing into the standard regime, and filing audited accounts. Breach any one and you lose the 0% rate for that year and the following four — a five-year exclusion.
The dual license and the 0% rate pull against each other
The dual license is SPC's headline selling point, and it's genuinely useful — it lets you invoice mainland UAE customers directly instead of appointing a distributor or agent.
But income from mainland UAE customers is generally treated as non-qualifying income, particularly for services. Take enough of it and you don't just pay 9% on that slice — you can breach the de minimis test and lose QFZP status on your entire year's profit.
Not one of the SPC pages ranking today connects these two facts. The dual license is the right call for a trading business selling goods locally, and often the wrong call for a consultancy chasing mainland retainers. Which one you are should decide your structure — not the brochure.
Wise Cat is a corporate services provider, not a tax agent. We'll flag where this affects your structure and refer you to a registered tax consultant before you commit.
Who SPC Suits — and Who It Doesn't
A good fit if you...
- • Sell online or export, and want the cheapest credible UAE license
- • Need several unrelated activities on one license — SPC allows up to five, combined across sectors
- • Plan to sponsor a growing team — no cap on visas per license
- • Are a publisher, author or distributor
- • Want to incorporate remotely, without flying in
Look elsewhere if you...
- • Need a Dubai address on the license for client credibility → Meydan Free Zone
- • Are doing heavy industrial or port-side logistics → JAFZA or RAKEZ
- • Are in regulated finance, insurance or legal services — look at DIFC or ADGM
- • Will earn most of your revenue from UAE mainland clients → read the tax section above
License Types at SPC Free Zone
01 Commercial
Trading in specified goods: import, export, local resale.
02 General Trading
Trading in unrelated goods under a single license.
03 Service / Professional
Consultancy, marketing, IT, education, project management.
04 E-Commerce
Online sales of goods and services, locally and cross-border.
05 Publishing / Media
Publishing, printing, advertising, broadcasting, software publishing.
The Publisher Advantage Nobody Advertises
Membership of the Emirates Publishers Association normally requires a company to be at least 51% Emirati-owned. A publisher licensed under SPC Free Zone can register as an EPA member regardless of shareholder nationality.
If you publish, translate, distribute or print, that carve-out is worth more than the few hundred dirhams a cheaper license would save you — it's direct access to the Sharjah International Book Fair network, rights trading and distribution channels a Dubai e-commerce license doesn't open.
SPC Free Zone Cost
Zero-visa license, up to 5 activities
From AED 6,875 with one visa
Both prices per SPC Free Zone. Includes lease agreement.
What the headline price doesn't include
- + Establishment card and e-Channel registration — required before any visa
- + Per-visa costs: entry permit, change of status, medical, Emirates ID
- + Corporate tax registration — mandatory even at 0%
- + Audited financial statements — required annually to hold QFZP status
- + VAT registration — once taxable turnover passes AED 375,000
Wise Cat SPC packages — quoted all-in, with government fees itemized separately so you can see exactly what SPC charges and what we charge. Ask us for your exact quote.
The Setup Process
Activity & Structure
We confirm your activities against SPC's approved list and recommend FZE, FZC or branch.
Trade Name
You give us three options; we run the name check and reserve the approved one.
Application
We compile and submit your file to SPC Free Zone.
License Issued
Standard, or same-day via Instant License, bundling MOA, lease and share certificate.
Immigration
Establishment card, then e-Channel registration.
Visa
Entry permit, change of status, medical and Emirates ID — SPC runs immigration on-site.
Bank Account
We prepare your file and introduce you to the banks whose criteria you actually meet.
Documents Required
Individual Shareholders
- Passport copy for every shareholder and manager
- Passport photo for every shareholder and manager
- Address proof for every shareholder and manager
- Emirates ID and visa copy if UAE-resident
- Latest entry stamp if not UAE-resident
Corporate Shareholders
- Certificate of Incorporation
- Memorandum & Articles of Association
- Existing trade license
- Board resolution authorising the new SPC entity
Corporate documents must be attested by the UAE Embassy in the country of origin, and by MOFA in the UAE.
Frequently Asked Questions
SPC publishes a starting price of AED 5,750 for a zero-visa license with up to five activities, and around AED 6,875 with one visa. Final cost depends on visa count, license term and facility type.
Start Your SPC Free Zone Setup
Tell us your activity and how many visas you need. We'll come back with an itemized quote — SPC's fees and ours, separated.
