21 May 2022
There are a lot of UAE free trade zones that have helped the country to boost its economy even more. In 2007, Fujairah Creative City Free Zone or Fujairah creative free zone was launched by His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al-Sharqi, ruler of the Emirate of Fujairah as an alternative to Dubai Media City. A business hub that caters to smaller businesses in helping them create a name or find a new location for their already established company somewhere. Fujairah Creative City Free Zone provides business owners in the category of media, events, consulting, education, communication, and marketing, music and entertainment, etc. with a business-friendly environment. Therefore, Fujairah Creative City has become a recognized place for a commercial setup in UAE.
Types of Licenses
To proceed with the incorporation of the company one has to decide first on the type of license he/she needs.
- A Commercial License - A single owner, no visa, and the processing time is 6-7 working days.
- Commercial License FZCO - Multiple Owners (FZ LLC), no visa, and the processing time is 6-7 working days.
- Freelancer- 3 Fujairah free zone visas with a processing time of 6-7 working days.
- Baby Business- This package is intended for small businesses to assist from an easy company set-up process with minimized overhead costs, 6 Fujairah visas, and a processing time of 6-7 working days.
A license in Fujairah Creative Zone will be issued within seven days enabling the holder to apply for a company bank account. The Free Zone will then apply for an Immigration Card which might take 10 to 15 working days. Once issued, the holder can apply for a UAE residency visa.
The Procedure of Company Set-Up
The first and most important step is identifying your business. What is it that you are willing to start? What will be your line of business? After you have decided, the next step will be determining are you the only shareholder or if you will be working with a business partner? How many employees will be working along with you? All these questions are necessary to determine your need to apply for visas, as the number of visas will equally contribute to the overall cost of your business setup. After finalizing your License Package get all your documents ready for submission to the relevant authority to be granted with a license. The documents necessary for the incorporation of a company are:
- An application form that has been duly filled
- A colored Passport copy, of the owner(s) and the person-in-charge
- Business description and Company name options
- Your residential address, phone number, and email
- Other required documents as requested
After submission, the competent authority will assess the documents and if your company gets approved, the authority will send an initial approval through email along with the invoice for payment. After the fee for the license is paid, it will usually take 2-3 working days for the issuance of the license after which it is compulsory to submit the Ultimate Beneficial owner (UBO) Declaration form online.
Once the license has been issued, the following documents will be provided to the person from the office of the Creative City, Fujairah:
- Company Trade License;
- Certificate of Incorporation;
- Shares certificate;
- Article of incorporation/ MOA;
- Office Lease Agreement
Costs of License
License cost for business set up in Fujairah starts from 11,000 AED and zero visa up until 15 visas. You can get extra visa slots anytime by upgrading your company. The cheapest packages in Creative City Fujairah are: Zero visas license will cost an AED 11,000; 1 visa license will cost AED 15,000, 6 visas license will cost an AED 21,000, and a license with 15 visas will cost up to AED 27,000
License Renewal
The license renewal process is a simple one and can be completed by a well-known legal expert. With a cost less than the setup cost of the company, this renewal is completed annually. However, if the company is directly registered with the creative city then the renewal application form must be emailed at [email protected] For those that run company bank accounts in UAE, after the company renewal, the new license has to be shown to the bank to extend the bank account for those who run the company bank.
Amendments in Company
Company amendments in Creative City Fujairah can include a change of company name
- change of the manager (person-in-charge)
- change of business activities
- shares transfer, etc.
The fees vary from around 2,000 AED for shares transfer and even fewer for the other changes.
Liquidation of the Company
A shareholder or a person having power of attorney from company owners can have the company liquidated by submitting a personal application. A fee of 4,000 AED will be charged for company license cancellation and 600 AED for resident visa cancellation. Whoever had a corporate bank account, should get it closed before applying for company liquidation. A letter of proof must be obtained from the bank confirming that. Once, the company is dissolved, an official deregistration letter will be provided to you from the free zone as a formal confirmation of the liquidation.
Benefits of Setting up a Company in Fujairah Creative City
The first and foremost benefit that you will have with your company being in the free zone is ownership of 100% over your company, unlike the mainland business where you would have to look for a local sponsor to initiate a business. Also, there is a 100% exemption from personal and corporate income tax. There is no need to pay for the share capital as well as an annual audit is also not required. There is no need for a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) for the company incorporation. A physical space or office is not required in the free zone rather a virtual office will be provided with services like prestigious addresses, excellent facilities, and professional assistance. You can apply for several visas you need without having any office space. Different packages are offered to freelances as well as single owners allowing them to have an operating business without going through a lot and spending much.