Being an auto-entrepreneur in France when you live abroad: what the address settles, and everything it does not

You live in Lisbon, Montreal or Dubai, and you want to launch an activity as an auto-entrepreneur (France's sole-trader micro-regime) in France. It's possible. But one confusion comes up almost every time: believing that a French address settles, in one stroke, both the question of contributions and that of taxes. This is the thread running through this article, and it fits in a single sentence: a French address serves to register you and obtain a SIRET; it decides neither where you pay contributions, nor where you are taxed.

Micro-entreprise: a regime, not a status

First point, because it governs everything else. The « micro-entreprise » is not a legal status: it is a regime (micro-fiscal and micro-social) that applies to an entreprise individuelle (EI, a French sole proprietorship). Legally, an auto-entrepreneur is a sole trader (entrepreneur individuel), that is, a natural person, with no company or legal personality distinct from their own. « Auto-entrepreneur », « micro-entrepreneur » and « entreprise individuelle under the micro regime » refer to the same thing.

Another misconception to set aside: since 1^er janvier 2023, all micro-entrepreneurs are registered in the Répertoire national des entreprises (RNE, the national business register) via the INPI's guichet unique (single window). The former exemption from registration for the liberal professions has disappeared. The RCS concerns only traders, the special register (RSAC) commercial agents; a liberal professional falling under the BNC, for their part, appears in the RNE.

Who has the right to set up, and above all to operate

The right to set up a business in France depends on your nationality. And two things that are often confused must be distinguished: registering a business and actually operating it.

• National of the European Union, the EEA or Switzerland: you benefit from freedom of establishment (article 49 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFUE)). No residence permit is required to set up and operate; you follow the same steps as a French national.
• National of a third country: if you reside in France, you need a permit authorising self-employed activity, today the carte de séjour pluriannuelle « talent – porteur de projet » (multi-year 'talent – project holder' residence permit) or the « entrepreneur / profession libérale » card (the label « passeport talent » is no longer in use). Algerian nationals fall under a specific regime, the Franco-Algerian agreement.

The decisive nuance for anyone living abroad: a third-country national can register a business in France without residing there, but the actual operation of a sole-trader activity does require residing in France with the appropriate permit. Running a company is another matter, which we cover in running a French company from abroad. If a company would suit you better than a micro, first compare the forms in SASU or EURL when you live abroad.

The business address and domiciliation: Domisiège's exact role

To register, an entreprise individuelle must declare a business address in France and provide proof that it has the use of it. It is article L. 123-10 du code de commerce that applies to natural persons (article L. 123-11, often wrongly cited, covers only legal entities). When you have no accommodation in France, the route is the société de domiciliation (business address provider): the domiciliation agreement then serves as the proof of use of premises required at registration.

Two safeguards to know: the domiciliation provider must be approved by the préfecture (art. L. 123-11-3) and cannot carry out this activity in premises used for residential purposes (art. L. 123-11-2). A contract concluded with an unapproved provider is invalid. On what a good contract should contain, see our five points to check.

This is precisely what Domisiège provides: a valid business address and the proof of use that opens registration, and therefore the SIRET. It is useful, it is necessary, and that is all. The three planes in the table above begin here: the address settles registration, it touches neither your social security nor your taxes. What follows explains why.

Social security affiliation follows the place of work, not the address

This is the most costly mistake. « My registered office is domiciled in France, so I pay contributions in France »: false. Within the European Union, the EEA and Switzerland, the règlement (CE) n° 883/2004 lays down that a person is subject to a single social security legislation at a time, that of the place where the activity is actually carried out (art. 11). If you work from Lisbon, you fall under Portuguese social security, even though your micro is registered in Tours. The address does not « repatriate » contributions.

A few common cases:

• Multiple activities: employee + micro: if you are an employee in an EU country and an auto-entrepreneur in France, you fall in principle under the social security of your country of salaried employment for everything.
• Two self-employed activities: it is the State of residence that applies if a substantial part (at least 25 %) of the activity is carried out there (règlement 883/2004, art. 13; règlement d'application 987/2009).
• Outside the EU/EEA/Switzerland: coordination goes through a bilateral social security agreement, where one exists; failing that, beware of double contributions or, conversely, of a lack of coverage.

One last trap: « détachement » (posting, art. 12 du règlement) presupposes a temporary departure from a genuine French base, with an A1 certificate; it is not a trick to keep French social security when you are already settled abroad for the long term. When the activity is properly attached to France, it is the micro-social contributions that apply:

Not every profession can be an auto-entrepreneur

The auto-entrepreneur status is not open to every occupation. The criterion is not the activity itself, but the pension fund: only activities falling under the Sécurité sociale des indépendants (SSI) or the CIPAV give access to it. Excluded from it are medical practitioners and auxiliaries under the statutory health-insurance agreement (PAMC) (doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, dental surgeons, midwives…), lawyers (CNBF) and chartered accountants.

Be careful not to over-interpret this exclusion: being excluded from the auto-entrepreneur status does not prevent you from falling under the micro-BNC on the tax side. These are two distinct things, one social, the other fiscal, which do not overlap.

Taxation: tax residence and source of income

Setting up a micro in France does not automatically make you a French tax resident. Residence is assessed against article 4 B du CGI and the applicable tax treaty; a domiciliation address is not one of its criteria. A non-resident is taxed in France only on their French-source income (CGI, art. 4 A): this includes activity carried out in France and a business operated in France (art. 164 B). A mere mailbox is neither a permanent establishment nor proof of residence.

Hence a point that is often misunderstood. The versement libératoire (final withholding option) for income tax (CGI, art. 151-0), which lets you settle income tax at the same time as contributions (1 %, 1,7 % or 2,2 % of turnover), is not open to every non-resident. It requires three cumulative conditions: falling under the micro, a reference taxable income for year N-2 below a ceiling (of the order of 29 000 € per share, revalued each year), and being subject to the French micro-social regime. In other words, a non-resident can use it only if their activity is attached to France socially. Failing that, they fall under the scale with a minimum tax rate for non-residents (20 %, then 30 % beyond about 29 600 €), unless they can demonstrate a more favourable worldwide average rate (art. 197 A).

Finally, the CFE. « No premises, no CFE » is false: absent any premises, a minimum contribution is due (CGI, art. 1647 D), unless turnover does not exceed 5 000 €. The year of creation is exempt (art. 1478), and the CFE attaches to the place of work, never to the registered-office address alone, a point we develop in CFE and domiciliation.

TVA: yet another logic

TVA follows its own rules, separate from the micro regime. The franchise en base (base VAT exemption, CGI, art. 293 B) is reserved for taxable persons established in France; yet a domiciliation is not a permanent establishment, which presupposes permanence and both human and technical resources (règlement d'exécution UE 282/2011, art. 11). In 2026, the exemption applies up to 37 500 € for services (41 250 € at the upper threshold) and 85 000 € for sales (93 500 €).

Consequence for anyone living outside Europe: a resident outside the EU has no access to any exemption and, if liable for TVA in France without being established there, must in principle appoint a tax representative (art. 289 A) and falls under the régime réel (standard regime). This establishment-and-territoriality mechanism is the same as the one described for companies in permanent establishment and VAT.

Two useful reflexes, even when exempt:

• From the very first B2B supply to a business in another Member State, you need an intra-Community TVA number, reverse-charge invoicing and a European services declaration (DES). Territoriality requires that B2B be taxed at the customer's location (art. 259, 1°), B2C at the supplier's location (art. 259, 2°).
• The OSS one-stop shop and its 10 000 € threshold (art. 259 D) concern only distance sales of goods and certain B2C services (telecoms, electronic): it is not a threshold applicable to all supplies.

A note of topical news to cut short the outdated articles: loi n° 2025-1044 du 3 novembre 2025 abandoned the plan for a single exemption threshold of 25 000 € and kept the differentiated thresholds above. No « BTP at 25 000 € » threshold is in force.

What Domisiège settles, and what it does not

Let us say it plainly. A domiciliation address provides you with a valid business address and the proof of use required at registration, and therefore access to the SIRET. It is the first link in the chain, and it is essential when you have no accommodation in France.

It does not settle the right to operate according to your nationality and residence permit; does not decide your social security affiliation, which follows the actual place of work; does not fix your tax residence or place of taxation; opens no TVA exemption and does not remove the need for a tax representative outside the EU. And it does not guarantee the consistency of the whole: a French micro with no real activity in France is legally fragile and exposes itself to reclassification. If a provider sells you an address as a means to « pay fewer contributions » or to choose your country of taxation, that is a warning sign: the address has none of these powers.

Key takeaways

• The micro is a regime, not a status: it is an entreprise individuelle, registered in the RNE since 2023.
• A French address is necessary to register (art. L. 123-10); an approved société de domiciliation provides one, together with the proof of use.
• Social security affiliation follows the actual place of work (règlement CE 883/2004), not the registered-office address.
• Tax residence (art. 4 B) and the source of income (art. 164 B) govern the tax; an address is not one of their criteria. The versement libératoire is open to a non-resident only if their activity is attached to the French micro-social regime.
• Not every profession is eligible: the criterion is the pension fund (SSI or CIPAV); PAMC, lawyers and chartered accountants are excluded from the status.
• The TVA exemption presupposes an establishment in France; a resident outside the EU is not entitled to it and falls under the régime réel.

Sources verified as of 16 septembre 2026: traité sur le fonctionnement de l'UE, art. 49; règlement (CE) n° 883/2004 (art. 11, 12, 13) and règlement d'application (CE) n° 987/2009; règlement d'exécution (UE) n° 282/2011, art. 11; code de commerce, art. L. 123-10, L. 123-11, L. 123-11-2, L. 123-11-3; CESEDA (« talent » and « entrepreneur / profession libérale » permits); code de la sécurité sociale, art. L. 133-6-8, D. 613-4 (décret n° 2025-943 du 8 septembre 2025); code général des impôts, art. 4 A, 4 B, 50-0, 102 ter, 151-0, 164 B, 197 A, 259, 259 D, 289 A, 293 B, 1447, 1478, 1647 D; loi n° 2025-1044 du 3 novembre 2025; BOFiP; service-public.fr and urssaf.fr. The rates and thresholds are those of 2026 and are revalued periodically. Domisiège provides a business address and the proof of use required at registration; its préfecture approval in Indre-et-Loire is being finalised, and its references will be published as soon as they are issued. An address settles neither your right to operate, nor your social security affiliation, nor your taxation, nor your TVA. This article is not a substitute for a review of your own situation.