The Sharjah Airport International Free Zone (SAIF-Zone)

The Sharjah Airport International Free Zone (SAIF-Zone) was established in 1995 and it is one of the primary business hubs of the UAE. Situated next to the International Airport in the Emirate of Sharjah, the free zone hosts over 3,000 companies from 91 countries.

Wide range of business activities can be carried on in SAIF-Zone including IT services, media, consumer durables, logistics, trading, import and export, advertising, publishing, light to medium manufacturing and many more.

Incomparable Convenience

The SAIF-Zone has competitive advantage due to its strategic location at the cross roads of major trade routes linking the east and the west. As a business hub, it offers an access to more than 2 billion consumers across the GCC, CIS, South Asia, parts of Africa and the Mediterranean.

The Emirate of Sharjah is a unique trade bridge that provides businesses an incomparable logistical advantage and convenience. Linking the Arabian Gulf and the Indian Ocean, this bridge makes the SAIF-Zone the ideal business hub in the Middle East.

ZAIF-Zone is has a proven commitment to providing investors with the perfect and thrilling conditions for business operation. By way of example, the SAIF-Zone is regularly enhancing its value-added services, office and industrial unit facilities, infrastructure and technical and scientific expertise.

Advantages

There are number of advantages of doing business in the SAIF-Zone. As a free-zone, in addition to tax-free operation and an absence of red-tape, the SAIF-Zone offers following trade incentives and benefits to investors:

• Full foreign ownershipof companies
• No restriction on repatriation of capital and profits
• Full exemption from income and corporate taxes
• Fast and simplified licensing process
• Partners and staff of companies can get UAE residency visas
• Access to over 2 billion customers across the region
• Strategic location

Types of Licenses

License types in SAIF-Zone can be divided into following categories:

• Commercial License – allows import, export, distribution, consolidation, storage or warehousing of products that are specified in the license. In one commercial license three different product lines can be added.
• General Trading – allows to trade with most of the types of products, with the exception of certain products that require special approval from the authorities.
• Service License – allows the holder to carry out service or consultancy activities that are specified in the license.
• Industrial License - allows import of raw materials, processing, manufacturing, assembling, packaging and exporting the finished product.

Types of Companies

Legal form of companies in SAIF-Zone are:

• Free Zone Establishment (FZE) – where the company has only one shareholder, it takes the form of FZE.
• Free Zone Company (FZCO) – FZCO can be established by min. 2 and max. 5 shareholders.
• Branch – existing foreign and local companies can register their branches in SAIF-Zone.

Living and Working in Sharjah

The Emirate of Sharjah has been recognized throughout the region as the centre of wisdom and culture. It is indeed one of the sought-after emirates for its rich culture, colourful history and age-old traditions. Despite its remarkable and fast modernization and business growth, there has been considerable effort to preserve historic monuments and sites.

Living costs are more affordable in Sharjah in comparison to other emirates. Also there are many world-class schools and universities operate in Sharjah with multinational education system and curriculum at all levels tailored to the needs of residents coming from many different countries.

Sharjah has seen considerable growth in its tourism industry attracting visitors from all over the world to enjoy its beautiful beaches, various restaurants, shopping and entertainment centres, and high standard hotels. According to Sharjah's tourism authority, the number of visitors to the emirate during the first half of 2014 exceeded one million.

Our Expertise

At Mimo Legal Consulting we have the expertise you need to setup your business in the UAE. We will help you to choose the right legal structure and license based on your requirements and business objectives. We also assist you in opening your bank account and acquiring residency visas in the UAE. If you are interested in setting up your business in the UAE, please contact us for further information.