SAIF - Sharjah Airport Free Zone

Overview of SAIF

Sharjah Airport International Free Zone (SAIF) is situated right next to Sharjah International Airport.

It is one of the oldest UAE zones with the most developed infrastructure: offices, warehouses, and land can be leased for any business. It was formed in 1995 and presently hosts approximately 7,000 companies. It is also the only UAE’s industrial free zone with rich greenery.

SAIF’s location perfectly suits trading, manufacturing, and logistics companies who are considering a business setup in UAE for a reasonable budget as it is located in close proximity to UAE’s significant seaports and other airports besides Sharjah International Airport.

If you are looking for business setup services in Dubai, it is worth checking SAIF as a possible option.

Wide range of offices, warehouses and land 

Sharjah Airport International Free Zone is one of very few zones that offers ready-to-move facilities.

Its warehouses are equipped with fitted offices with air conditioning, pantry, and kitchen. Your investments into the fit-out of a warehouse will be minimal.

Size of warehouses starts with 125 sq. m, out of which 22 sq. m are allocated for the office space. Other available options include 250, 400, and 600 sq. m.

There are 3 types of offices in SAIF zone authority:

• SAIF Suite. Fitted out, air-conditioned, and furnished, with an executive suite office. Provides 8 visa quotas.
• SAIF Executive Office. Fitted out, air-conditioned, and furnished, with an executive desk. Provides 5 visa quotas.
• SAIF Office. An unfurnished but fully customizable office with included utility costs. Provides 3 visa quotas.

All office types come with high-class telecom/IT infrastructure.

Apart from that, staff accommodation premises, container parking, and temporary warehouses are available. In addition, the free zone has its own Jewelry Park, a full-scale and field-oriented unit for jewelry production and exchange with a variety of reputable jewelry businesses.

SAIF facilities are likely to suit any company considering business setup in Sharjah.

Activities

The 3 major categories of licenses in Sharjah Airport Free Zone include:

1. Trading 
2. Service 
3. Industrial

Your license can belong only to one of these categories. If you want to mix them, an additional license will have to be purchased. In particular, E-commerce falls under the Service license.

Sharjah Airport SAIF zone has a very broad business activity list. It even has some hard-to-get service activities, such as "Investment of own funds".

Activities also allow storage and consolidation of the products specified in your license, as well as manufacturing and assembling of your products.

SAIF does not share its activity list, so the availability of all business activities needs to be checked. The free zone allows having multiple activities in the license for your company formation in Sharjah, but if they are not related, additional fees will apply.

Sharjah Free Zone company setup costs 

There are 3 company formation types available in SAIF:

1. FCZO (Free Zone Company). It is basically a free zone LLC formed by multiple shareholders which may include both individuals and non-individuals (companies).
2. FZE (Free Zone Establishment). It is an LLC with a single shareholder, either an individual or non-individual (company).
3. Branch. It is opened by a parent company within SAIF, either a foreign or a UAE one, with 100% ownership by the parent company and subject to its name and activities.

The best SAIF offers currently are:

1. Trading or services license for 10,800 AED.
2. General trading / aviation / e-commerce / multiple activity license for 21,000 AED.

These packages are eligible for 3 resident visas and have a small office as a part of the package.

If you are planning to rent a bigger facility, you will pay license fee + the rent of the office or warehouse. The prices will be competitive to Sharjah LLC company formation cost; however, facilities in the Mainland are usually cheaper than in free zones.

Note that the information on facility lease costs in SAIF is not disclosed and is provided upon request.

Visa fees and other immigration fees are paid separately.

Company Setup

Sharjah free zone company formation in SAIF can be done personally by company owners or by Power of Attorney holders.

License is issued instantly on the day of application.

The required documents and information for the incorporation in Sharjah Airport Free Zone:

1. Passport
2. Passport-size photo
3. Residential address, phone number, and e-mail of the owner

The documents issued by SAIF after company registration include:

• Certificate of Incorporation
• License
• Memorandum and Articles of Association
• Investment Service Agreement
• Share Certificate
• Lease Agreement

Company registration in this free zone can be done by business setup consultants in Sharjah or in Dubai.

SAIF free zone visa cost

Company formation in SAIF usually entails resident visa opening.

The visa of the company owner is valid for 3 years, the visa of an employee – for 2 years.

SAIF visa fees, AED:

In case you applied for a resident visa while being on a tourist visa, a procedure of status change will apply. It costs 850 AED or 1010 AED on an urgent basis.

Trade License Renewal

Renewal of Sharjah Airport International Free Zone company can be done without the company owners’ personal visit. It takes 1 day.

The free zone requires making the payment and signing the renewed lease agreement in order to process the renewal.

Amendments 

Amendments of any company in SAIF can be done only by the shareholders or Power of Attorney holders.

Some standard amendments with the costs:

• Shares transfer: 10,000 AED
• Adding/removing Director: 2,000 AED
• Change of Manager: 2,000 AED
• Change of financial year: 500 AED

Liquidation

Company liquidation in SAIF requires submission of a few documents:

• Board Resolution 
• Clearance from Customs
• Audit report
• Visa status report from SAIF Immigration Department
• Clearance from SAIF Facilities Management Department

The cost of the cancellation is 5,500 AED including publication of a newspaper notice.

UAE business setup consultant opinion

In light of recent substance requirements introduced by the UAE Government, SAIF becomes an attractive place. Here you can get a company with an office space for a more than reasonable fee.

Apart from that, the number of resident visa slots per company exceeds that in similar zones. Another way of getting a large number of visas per company is Fujairah Free Zone company setup. In case you do purely international business and do not need UAE resident visas, you may also look at offshore company formation in Dubai.