SRTIP - Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation ParkSetup cost, licence types and visa rules
Sharjah
Research park free zone next to University City with labs and an accelerator.
SRTIP is a research and innovation park adjacent to University City of Sharjah, operating its own free zone authority and built on a deliberate academia-industry-government model. Alongside offices and co-working it provides R&D laboratories, the SoiLab prototyping facility, the SAIA accelerator and the SBAN angel investor network, which is a materially different offer from a licence-and-desk zone. Sector focus covers advanced manufacturing, healthcare and medical devices, environmental and water technology, renewable energy and mobility digitalisation. It offers a broad licence range including consultancy and non-profit licences and a dual licence for mainland trading, and it publishes its package prices. One caution: SRTIP's marketing describes 'zero corporate and personal tax' without setting out the conditions that actually apply to free zone companies.
Visit Official Website"Not scored" means we found no evidence for that dimension, not that the zone scored zero. Compare zones against each other, not against 10.
How much does SRTIP - Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park cost?
SRTIP - Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park setup costs from AED 5,500, published by Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park Free Zone Authority, verified 19 August 2026.
Setup cost
AED 5,500
≈ $1,507 · €1,375
One-time formation cost, as published
Published by Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park Free Zone Authority, verified 19 August 2026.View the source page
USD and EUR figures are indicative conversions at AED 3.65/USD and AED 4.00/EUR. Only the AED figure is a published price.
What licence types does SRTIP - Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park issue?
SRTIP - Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park publishes 7 licence types: Trading license, Service license, Industrial license, Consultancy license, Non-Profit license, Limited Liability Company and Branch company. The licence you hold sets which activities you may carry out, and in most zones it also drives the visa allocation and the workspace you are required to take.
Permitted activities
What office options does SRTIP - Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park offer?
SRTIP - Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park publishes 5 workspace options: Office, Co-working, R&D lab, Event and meeting venues, Land. SRTIP - Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park requires a physical presence in the zone, so the workspace cost is part of the real entry price rather than an optional extra.
Published workspace options: Office, Co-working, R&D lab, Event and meeting venues, Land. Important: a virtual address or flexi-desk satisfies the free zone's own licensing rule but is a separate question from the adequate-substance test that a Qualifying Free Zone Person must meet to claim the 0% Corporate Tax rate. Setup timeline as published by the zone: As little as five working days to licence, registration and move-in with complete documents. What the published entry price covers, as stated by the source: Zero Visa company licence package: 100% ownership, 5 business activities (trading/services/e-commerce), free business consultation, multiple shareholders, free lease agreement. The official 1 Visa All-Inclusive package is AED 13,990.
Tax and compliance at SRTIP - Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park
SRTIP - Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park publishes no blanket audit obligation of its own. Separately, every free zone company in the UAE falls under Federal Decree-Law 47 of 2022: the 0% rate applies only to the qualifying income of a Qualifying Free Zone Person, and a QFZP must file audited accounts at any revenue under Ministerial Decision 84 of 2025. Non-qualifying income is taxed at 9%.
- Regulatory authority
- Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park Free Zone Authority (SRTIP)
- Zone-level audit requirement
- Not published as a blanket requirement
Tax treatment the authority publishes
- 0% Corporate Tax on Qualifying Income for a Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP) - conditional, not automatic
- 9% Corporate Tax on any income that is not Qualifying Income; the AED 375,000 zero-rate band does not apply to a QFZP
- 0% personal income tax in the UAE
- 100% repatriation of capital and profits, with no UAE exchange controls
- QFZP status requires adequate free zone substance, arm's length pricing, transfer pricing documentation, audited accounts and non-qualifying revenue within the de minimis limit (lower of AED 5,000,000 or 5% of revenue)
- Small Business Relief is NOT available to a Qualifying Free Zone Person
Substance requirements
Federal position (applies to every UAE free zone): to claim the 0% Qualifying Free Zone Person rate a company must maintain adequate substance in the free zone - core income-generating activity carried out there, plus adequate assets, an adequate number of qualified full-time employees and adequate operating expenditure relative to that activity (Cabinet Decision No. 100 of 2023, Art. 8). Under Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025 every Qualifying Free Zone Person must prepare audited financial statements regardless of revenue; a free zone company that is not a QFZP needs audited accounts only where revenue exceeds AED 50,000,000. Economic Substance Regulations notifications and reports were cancelled for financial years ending after 31 December 2022 by Cabinet Decision No. 98 of 2024, so ESR is no longer a live annual filing. UBO disclosure under Cabinet Decision No. 109 of 2023 does still apply. Zone-level audit position: no primary source stating this zone's own audit requirement was retrievable during research. The audit_required flag is recorded as false because the field cannot express 'unknown'; do not read it as confirmation that no audit is required. The federal rules above apply in any case.
Customs treatment
This zone does not appear on the compiled VAT Designated Zone list and was not explicitly excluded from it, so its Designated Zone status is recorded as unknown rather than as 'no'. Goods held inside a customs-controlled free zone area are generally not subject to UAE customs duty until they enter the mainland, at which point 5% import VAT and any applicable duty arise. Verify Designated Zone status with the FTA before relying on it for goods movements.
Profit repatriation
The UAE imposes no exchange controls and no restrictions on repatriating capital or profits from a free zone company, and there is no personal income tax on distributions to individuals. Corporate Tax is assessed on the company, not on the remittance.
Ownership
100% foreign ownership is permitted. No UAE national shareholder, local sponsor or service agent is required.
- Minimum shareholders
- 1
- Local partner
- Not required
Why there is no banking section
We publish no per-zone bank lists, acceptance rates or account-opening timelines, here or anywhere else on the site. No bank and no regulator publishes that data by free zone. Account opening is a decision each bank makes on your shareholders and your activity — it is not a property of the zone you register in, and any site that scores it per zone is inventing a fact.
Who SRTIP - Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park suits
Every line below is a restatement of something SRTIP - Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park publishes, not a recommendation we were paid to make. We are not a reseller for any zone on this site, which is why the right-hand column exists at all.
Consider it if
- You want 100% foreign ownership with no local partner.
- Entry price is the deciding factor: the published setup cost is AED 5,500.
- You want a price you can check against the authority's own page before you commit.
- Your activity spans more than one licence category — 7 are published.
Don't pick this if
- You are not ready to lease space: a physical presence in the zone is required.
Key benefits, as SRTIP - Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park states them
These are the selling points the authority publishes about itself. We reproduce them; we do not endorse them.
Common questions about SRTIP - Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park
How much does it cost to set up in SRTIP - Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park?
SRTIP - Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park setup costs from AED 5,500, published by Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park Free Zone Authority, verified 19 August 2026.
What licence types does SRTIP - Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park issue?
SRTIP - Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park publishes 7 licence types: Trading license, Service license, Industrial license, Consultancy license, Non-Profit license, Limited Liability Company and Branch company.
Can a foreign investor own 100% of a company in SRTIP - Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park?
100% foreign ownership is permitted. No UAE national shareholder, local sponsor or service agent is required.
What tax treatment applies to a SRTIP - Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park company?
SRTIP - Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park publishes the following: 0% Corporate Tax on Qualifying Income for a Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP) - conditional, not automatic, 9% Corporate Tax on any income that is not Qualifying Income; the AED 375,000 zero-rate band does not apply to a QFZP, 0% personal income tax in the UAE, 100% repatriation of capital and profits, with no UAE exchange controls, QFZP status requires adequate free zone substance, arm's length pricing, transfer pricing documentation, audited accounts and non-qualifying revenue within the de minimis limit (lower of AED 5,000,000 or 5% of revenue) and Small Business Relief is NOT available to a Qualifying Free Zone Person. The 0% federal rate applies only to the qualifying income of a Qualifying Free Zone Person; other income is taxed at 9%.
Where is SRTIP - Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park located?
SRTIP - Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park is a free zone in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Compare SRTIP - Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park against
- Shams - Sharjah Media CityAlso in Sharjah · AED 6,500
- SPC Free Zone - Sharjah Publishing CityAlso in Sharjah · AED 5,750
- HFZA - Hamriyah Free ZoneAlso in Sharjah · Not published
- Ajman Media City Free ZoneSimilar published setup cost · AED 4,999
- Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis)Similar published setup cost · AED 6,600
Guides that cover Sharjah and this zone's situation
- 0% Free Zone Corporate Tax: The Eight QFZP Conditions as a Checklist
Free zone 0% corporate tax has eight conditions, and all must be met. The full checklist, including the audit rule with no revenue threshold.
- Ministerial Decision 229 of 2025: Qualifying Activities, and Why MD 265 Content Is Stale
Ministerial Decision 229 of 2025 repealed MD 265 of 2023 retroactively from June 2023. The current qualifying activities list and what expanded.
- The QFZP De Minimis Rule, With a Worked Example (5% or AED 5m)
Non-qualifying revenue must stay under the lower of AED 5m or 5% of total revenue. Two worked examples and what happens if you breach it.
Cost data for SRTIP - Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park was last checked against Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park Free Zone Authority's own site on 19 August 2026. Figures are reproduced in the currency the authority publishes them in, and are never converted, averaged or estimated. We do not charge to be listed, to be listed accurately, or to be ranked. If something here is wrong or out of date, send us the page that says so and we will correct it and re-date the record.