From Thailand: how a freelancer can invoice a French IT services firm compliantly

You have agreed a day rate with a French IT services firm, but the conversation stalls when it asks for an invoice issued from Thailand.

The issue is not only tax-related. It is mainly contractual, accounting and compliance-related on the IT services firm’s side.

A French IT services firm must be able to justify who is invoicing, where the provider is located, which VAT regime applies, who bears the supplier risk and whether the service can be cleanly integrated into its own client contract.

Invoicing a French IT services firm from Thailand therefore requires two distinct things:

• a coherent personal and tax situation on the freelancer’s side;
• an invoice and supplier file that are acceptable to the French IT services firm.

This guide focuses on the second point: making your invoicing readable, credible and contractually usable for a French IT services firm, without turning this into a general tax guide. For the overall country-by-country framework, you can read the country-by-country guide to working with France from abroad.

What the IT services firm really checks before accepting your invoice

An IT services firm does not approve a Thai invoice simply because the day rate is attractive.

It first checks whether it can create you as a supplier without triggering an internal alert.

The sensitive points are generally the following:

• the provider’s real identity;
• the country of tax residence;
• the legal or professional status used for invoicing;
• the real place of work;
• the applicable VAT regime;
• the ability to obtain a compliant invoice;
• the risk of reclassification or economic dependence;
• the risk of non-compliance towards its end client;
• the ability to tie the service to a clear purchase order.

Your challenge is therefore not merely to “issue an invoice”. Your challenge is to present a non-EU supplier that the IT services firm can bring into its procurement process.

An acceptable invoice for an IT services firm is not a pretty invoice. It is an invoice that enables the IT services firm to justify the supplier, the service, the VAT and the payment.

Tax residence in Thailand: separating your personal reality from the supplier file

If you genuinely live in Thailand, the first question is that of your genuine tax residence.

This cannot be inferred from an address on an invoice. It depends on facts: place of life, length of presence, centre of personal and economic interests, actual working conditions, and absence of an organised presence in France.

The 183-day threshold is often used as a benchmark, but it is not always sufficient on its own. Tax residence is demonstrated through a body of evidence.

A healthy configuration looks like this:

• you genuinely live in Thailand;
• you genuinely work remotely from Thailand;
• you have no team, office or organised presence in France;
• your local structure or status corresponds to a real activity;
• you can simply explain where you live, where you work from and who invoices.

An abusive configuration looks like this:

• you are actually based in France but invoice through a Thai address;
• you use an entity with no substance to conceal a French activity;
• you claim to be outside the EU while the work is performed mainly from France;
• you allow a French company to act as if it represented you or entered into contracts in your name.

This second configuration must be avoided. A shell entity or artificial residence may be characterised as fraud or create serious tax risks.

StelarWork does not sell tax optimisation. If you are already a genuine tax resident outside the EU, StelarWork can remove an administrative and contractual friction point with the French IT services firm. The tax status already exists. It must not be manufactured for invoicing purposes.

Invoicing directly from Thailand: what your invoice must contain

If the IT services firm agrees to onboard a non-EU provider, your invoice must be clear and complete.

It must enable the accounting department to understand immediately:

• who is invoicing;
• to whom the invoice is addressed;
• which service is being invoiced;
• which period is covered;
• which VAT rule is applied;
• which contract or purchase order links the invoice to an approved service.

Information to include

Your invoice should generally include:

• your name or the name of your structure;
• your real business address in Thailand;
• your local tax or registration identifier, if applicable;
• the IT services firm’s full legal name;
• the IT services firm’s billing address;
• the invoice number;
• the issue date;
• the date or period during which the service was performed;
• the reference of the contract, quote or purchase order;
• a precise description of the service;
• the amount excluding tax;
• the currency;
• bank details;
• the applicable VAT wording.

The description of the service should avoid wording that is too close to staff secondment.

Prefer service-oriented wording:

• “Development of an authentication module for a SaaS application”;
• “Correction and delivery of backend tickets according to the approved backlog”;
• “Cloud architecture review and technical recommendations”;
• “Development, testing and documentation of an internal API”.

Avoid vague wording such as:

• “consultant made available”;
• “time spent at the client’s premises”;
• “dedicated resource”;
• “pure time-and-materials provision”.

The IT services firm must be able to connect your work to an outcome, deliverables or a defined service scope.

The more the invoice looks like a structured B2B service, the more readable it is for the IT services firm. The more it looks like unlawful labour supply, the more friction it creates.

VAT: the point that often blocks accounting teams

A freelancer in Thailand or a non-EU provider generally does not charge French VAT in the way a supplier established in France would.

For many B2B services, the French IT services firm must analyse the VAT reverse charge mechanism. This means that VAT is not necessarily collected by the foreign provider, but declared by the French business client under the applicable rules.

For the IT services firm, this is not a detail. The accounting department must understand why the invoice does not include French VAT and how to process it.

To explore this specific point in more detail, the mechanism is explained here: the VAT reverse charge mechanism on a service received from outside the EU.

The VAT wording must be coherent

Your invoice should not simply display “VAT 0%” with no explanation.

Coherent wording should state that the service is performed by a provider established outside the EU and that the French business client applies, where applicable, the VAT reverse charge.

The exact wording must be validated with a competent adviser, because it depends on the provider’s status, the nature of the service and the country concerned.

What matters for the IT services firm is:

• not receiving an ambiguous invoice;
• not having to guess the VAT treatment;
• not creating an anomaly in its accounting software;
• being able to justify the treatment in the event of an audit.

The supplier file: the other half of the problem

Even before the invoice, the IT services firm may request documents to create your supplier record.

It may ask for:

• proof of identity for the signatory;
• proof of address;
• a local registration certificate or equivalent;
• a tax number;
• a bank statement or bank details document;
• a tax residence certificate, if available;
• evidence that the structure genuinely exists;
• sometimes documents relating to anti-fraud, anti-money laundering or international sanctions checks.

There is nothing exceptional about this process. It is supplier due diligence.

For an IT services firm, the question is simple: “Who is really signing, and with whom are we contracting?”

This topic is covered in detail in this article on how the IT services firm verifies the real identity of the signatory before contracting.

Your file must be coherent from end to end

The information must match across documents.

If your invoice shows an address in Bangkok, but your contract mentions a French address, the IT services firm will have to ask questions.

If your bank account is in a third country with no clear connection to your activity, this may slow down payment.

If your local status does not clearly allow you to invoice services, the IT services firm may refuse to create you as a supplier.

Coherence is worth more than a long commercial pitch.

Why the IT services firm may refuse a Thai invoice even if everything is genuine

Even when your situation is healthy, the IT services firm may refuse to contract directly with you.

This refusal does not necessarily mean it doubts you. It may come from its own internal constraints.

The most common causes are:

• procurement policy limiting non-EU suppliers;
• inability to manage a foreign currency;
• no process for non-EU providers;
• refusal to process the reverse charge for certain suppliers;
• requirement for a French supplier;
• constraints imposed by the end client;
• concern about documentary compliance;
• perceived risk around tax residence or permanent establishment.

This blockage is common with structures in Dubai, Bali, Bangkok or elsewhere outside the EU. The mechanism is explained in why an IT services firm often blocks a foreign company and how to remove the obstacle.

The important point: your invoice is not always the problem. Sometimes the foreign supplier simply does not fit within the IT services firm’s internal framework.

Permanent establishment risk: not creating a false presence in France

When you invoice from Thailand, the IT services firm may also consider the risk of a permanent establishment in France.

This risk arises in particular if a foreign activity appears in reality to be organised from France, or if a person in France habitually concludes contracts on behalf of the foreign provider.

To remain in a readable configuration:

• you must not claim to be in Thailand if you work from France;
• you must not organise a stable commercial or operational presence in France without prior analysis;
• a third party must not conclude contracts in your name as a dependent representative;
• the contract must reflect the reality of performance.

StelarWork does not position itself as the freelancer’s representative in France and does not enter into contracts on behalf of the freelancer.

StelarWork contracts in its own name with the French IT services firm, then separately frames the service with the non-EU freelancer. The objective is to offer the IT services firm a readable French supplier, while maintaining a coherent and documented contractual relationship.

When to use StelarWork rather than invoicing the IT services firm directly

Direct invoicing from Thailand can work if the IT services firm accepts:

• a non-EU supplier;
• an invoice without French VAT collected by the provider;
• an international payment;
• a foreign KYB/KYC file;
• a contract potentially subject to different rules;
• a heavier supplier documentation process.

But some IT services firms do not want to onboard this type of supplier.

In that case, StelarWork sits between the French IT services firm and the tech freelancer based outside the EU.

In practical terms:

• the IT services firm contracts with a French company (SASU);
• StelarWork invoices the IT services firm;
• StelarWork carries the supplier framework, documentary compliance and contractual risk on the IT services firm’s side;
• the freelancer invoices StelarWork according to their real status abroad;
• the service remains structured around a scope, deliverables and a purchase order.

This model aims to turn a relationship that is difficult to onboard into a French supplier relationship that is easier for the IT services firm to read.

It does not transform your tax residence. It does not create an artificial status. It is not used to conceal a presence in France.

It removes administrative and contractual friction where your non-EU situation is already real and documentable.

The right question is not: “how do I avoid tax?”
The right question is: “how do I make a service genuinely performed from Thailand acceptable to a French IT services firm?”

How to present your situation to the IT services firm without creating doubt

The way you present things matters.

Avoid imprecise wording:

• “I’m French but I invoice from Thailand”;
• “I have an address there to avoid VAT”;
• “I can issue a foreign invoice if needed”;
• “We can use any structure”.

Prefer a factual presentation:

• you are settled in Thailand;
• you work remotely;
• you have a status or structure that allows you to invoice;
• you can provide the necessary supplier documents;
• the service will be framed by a purchase order;
• the invoice will state the appropriate VAT treatment;
• if the IT services firm does not onboard non-EU providers, a French contractual solution can be considered.

This clarity reassures procurement, accounting and legal teams.

The checklist before sending your first invoice to an IT services firm

Before sending an invoice to a French IT services firm, check the following points.

Residence and actual working reality

You must be able to explain:

• where you genuinely live;
• where you work from;
• why your tax residence is coherent;
• why your activity is not organised from France;
• which status allows you to invoice.

If these answers are unclear, the invoice will not solve the problem.

Supplier documents

Prepare:

• your legal information;
• your business address;
• your registration documents;
• your tax identifier, if applicable;
• your bank details;
• proof of identity;
• any document useful for supplier verification.

The IT services firm may ask for more or fewer documents depending on its internal process.

Invoice

Check that the invoice mentions:

• the correct invoiced entity;
• the correct purchase order number;
• a clear service description;
• the period covered;
• the amount and currency;
• coherent VAT wording;
• the provider’s legal information;
• the exact bank details.

To go further on payments and related flows, you can read the complete flow for invoicing and paying for a non-EU service.

Contractual framing

Make sure the service is described as a B2B service.

The contract or purchase order must avoid a logic of simple labour provision.

It should refer to:

• a scope;
• deliverables;
• expected outcomes;
• validation procedures;
• responsibilities;
• invoicing terms.

This protects the IT services firm, but also the freelancer.

FAQ

Can I invoice a French IT services firm from Thailand as a freelancer?

Yes, if your real situation, your local status and the contractual framework allow it, and if the IT services firm agrees to onboard a non-EU provider.

The blocking point often has less to do with your ability to issue an invoice than with the IT services firm’s ability to accept it within its supplier process.

Do I have to charge French VAT to the IT services firm?

Not necessarily. For a B2B service performed by a provider established outside the EU, the French IT services firm may have to apply a VAT reverse charge mechanism.

The exact wording depends on the service, the provider’s status and the accounting treatment adopted. It must be validated with a competent adviser.

Is an address in Thailand enough to prove my tax residence?

No. An address is not enough.

Tax residence depends on real facts: place of life, length of presence, centre of interests, working conditions and absence of an organised presence in France. An artificial or incoherent situation can create a tax risk.

What should I do if the IT services firm refuses my Thai invoice?

First, understand the reason for the refusal: VAT, international payment, procurement policy, supplier compliance, end client, contractual risk.

If the blockage comes from the fact that the IT services firm does not want to contract with a non-EU provider, a solution such as StelarWork can be considered: the IT services firm contracts with a French supplier, while the freelancer remains invoiced according to their real status abroad.

Disclaimer

This article provides general information for tech freelancers and IT services firms. It does not constitute personalised legal, tax, employment or accounting advice.

The applicable rules depend in particular on your genuine tax residence, your status in Thailand, the nature of the service, the contract, payment flows and the situation of the French IT services firm.

Before issuing an invoice or structuring a cross-border contractual relationship, have your situation validated by a competent professional in the jurisdictions concerned.