The fastest-growing budget zone right now — aggressive pricing, instant licence issuance, dual-licence option with Sharjah mainland and a genuinely broad activity list. The search demand numbers reflect it: SPC out-queries most Dubai zones.
The numbers
Licence fromAED 5,750
Visa quotaup to 3 on the entry tier
Activities2,000+
Officenot required at entry tiers
Setup time1–2 business days
LAST VERIFIED: 21 JUL 2026 · Tariff verified against the official schedule.
Who SPC actually fits — and who it does not
SPC Free Zone began as Sharjah Publishing City, a media and publishing cluster, but its activity list has since grown past 2,000 codes — one of the broadest low-cost licences in the country. In practice it fits solo consultants, e-commerce sellers, marketing and IT service firms, and small traders who want a genuine licence at the AED 5,750 entry point and can operate without a Dubai address.It does not fit everyone. If your model needs warehousing or light-industrial space, SAIF Zone or RAKEZ are built for that and SPC is not. If you trade heavily on a Dubai-branded address for client optics, or you need a large visa block from day one, look elsewhere — the base allocation is three, and every visa beyond that adds cost. Stock-heavy or showroom businesses should skip this zone.
What AED 5,750 covers — and what sits beyond it
The AED 5,750 figure in the spec table is the licence itself, typically on a zero-visa package with a capped number of activities in a single group. It is a real rate, not a teaser, but it is not the all-in number. Beyond it sit the establishment (immigration) card once you want to sponsor visas, the per-visa costs (entry permit, medical test, Emirates ID and status change run several thousand dirham each), and — once turnover crosses AED 375,000 — VAT registration.On corporate tax, qualifying free-zone income is taxed at 0%, but you still register and file — the licence price does not remove that obligation.
Visas, office and the dual-licence route
SPC issues on a lease / smart-desk arrangement, so no physical office is required to hold the licence — this is what keeps the entry cost down. The standard visa quota is three, enough for a founder plus a couple of staff; larger teams need a package upgrade or a leased unit to raise the allocation.One feature genuinely specific to SPC is the dual-licence route with Sharjah mainland (DED): it lets you hold a free-zone and a mainland licence under one structure, widening where you can invoice and serve UAE clients directly. For corporate-tax purposes, keep in mind the 0% qualifying rate depends on real substance in the zone, not a desk on paper.
SPC vs SHAMS vs IFZA
The honest comparison is with its Sharjah neighbour SHAMS and the Dubai-branded IFZA. SPC and SHAMS share the same AED 5,750 entry point; SPC's edge is a wider activity list and the mainland dual-licence option, while SHAMS leans media and freelancer. IFZA sits at a different level — around AED 12,900 — buying a Dubai address that some clients and banks prefer.
Zone
Emirate
Licence from
Activities
Visas
SPC
Sharjah
AED 5,750
2,000+
3
SHAMS
Sharjah
AED 5,750
1,500+
3
IFZA
Dubai
AED 12,900
2,000+
3
If banking optics and a Dubai postcode matter, pay the IFZA premium. If cost and activity breadth matter more, SPC wins on both.
Setting up in SPC Free Zone
01
Activity & name
Pick licensed activities and reserve a trade name. Activity choice drives approvals, banking and whether your income can be QFZP-qualifying.
02
Documents & KYC
Passports, application forms and a clean source-of-funds story. No local sponsor is needed — free zone companies are 100% foreign-owned.
03
Licence & establishment card
The zone issues your licence (typically 1–2 business days), then the immigration establishment card that unlocks visa processing.
04
Visas & bank account
Entry permit, medical, Emirates ID for each visa holder; corporate account opening runs in parallel — this is usually the slowest step.
Straight answers
How much does an SPC Free Zone licence really cost?
The headline is AED 5,750, which covers the licence on a zero-visa package with a limited activity count. Once you sponsor your first visa, add the establishment card and per-visa costs (entry permit, medical, Emirates ID, status change), so a one-owner, one-visa setup lands well above the licence-only figure.
Can I get a Dubai address or Dubai visa with SPC?
No — SPC is a Sharjah free zone, so you get Sharjah residence visas and a Sharjah address. If a Dubai-branded address matters for clients or banking, IFZA is the closer fit at a higher price.
What is the SPC dual licence with Sharjah mainland?
It lets you hold an SPC free-zone licence and a Sharjah mainland (DED) licence under one structure, so you can invoice and serve UAE clients directly without a separate company. It is one of the few budget zones offering this route.
How many visas can I get with SPC?
The standard allocation is three. Larger teams raise the quota by upgrading the package or leasing a physical unit within the zone.
What is SPC's dual-licence option worth?
It pairs your free zone licence with a Sharjah onshore permission, opening local invoicing without a separate mainland company — rare at this price point. If Sharjah-side customers are in your plan, this single feature can decide the zone.
How instant is "instant licence" at SPC really?
Genuinely same-day for clean standard cases — the zone built its pitch on it. What still takes normal time: establishment card, visas and above all the bank account; "licence in a day" compresses one step of five.
Is the “from AED 5,750” price real?
It is the official entry-tier licence figure — without visas, establishment card or add-ons. Our estimate above shows a realistic first-year floor; anything quoted below it usually hides a fee.
Can this company do business on the UAE mainland?
A free zone licence covers business inside the zone and abroad. Selling onshore generally needs a mainland distributor, a branch, or a dual-licence arrangement where offered — we flag which applies before you commit.
Does 0% corporate tax apply here?
Free zone companies pay 0% only on qualifying income under the QFZP regime — substance, audited accounts and de-minimis limits included. Otherwise the standard 9% above AED 375k applies. We model this in the corporate tax calculator.
Tell us what you're building.
We reply with numbers — a line-by-line setup estimate for your case. Not a call script, not a brochure.