**You generally cannot simply choose where to pay tax.** You can choose where to establish your home and business, but your tax obligations follow each country’s laws and the relevant tax treaties. EU citizenship does not create a single EU tax system. [EU guidance](https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/taxes/income-taxes-abroad/)

For your situation, there are three separate issues:

1. **Where you are tax resident.** That country can generally tax your worldwide income. Days spent there matter, but so can your home, family and economic ties. Your current country may continue treating you as resident after you start travelling.
2. **Where you physically perform the work.** A country you visit may tax freelance work carried out there even if you are not tax resident. Domestic rules and the applicable treaty determine whether it can do so.
3. **Social security and VAT.** These have their own rules and need checking separately from income tax. [EU social-security guidance](https://employment-social-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies-and-activities/moving-working-europe/eu-social-security-coordination/which-rules-apply-you_en), [VAT guidance](https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/finance-and-tax/vat/cross-border-vat/index_en.htm)

**Staying below 183 days everywhere does not automatically mean you owe tax nowhere.** Two useful examples from your destinations:

- **Ireland:** residence can arise from 183 days in one calendar year **or 280 days across the current and previous year**, subject to the 30-day exception. [Irish Revenue](https://www.revenue.ie/en/jobs-and-pensions/tax-residence/resident-for-tax-purposes.aspx)
- **Malta:** spending more than 183 days establishes residence, but someone arriving to establish their residence can become resident from arrival. [Maltese tax authority](https://cfr.gov.mt/en/individuals/Pages/Tax-Residence.aspx)

Also, Ireland can tax income attributable to a trade or profession carried on there by a non-resident, subject to treaty protection. So “only two months there” is not enough to establish that no tax is due. [Irish Revenue guidance](https://www.revenue.ie/en/self-assessment-and-self-employment/documents/guide-pay-file.pdf)

If two countries regard you as resident, a tax treaty may resolve residence and provide relief from double taxation. **That can still involve filing returns in both countries.** [EU guidance on double taxation](https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/taxes/income-taxes-abroad/)

The practical approach is to:

- Establish a genuine home and freelance-business base, and confirm whether you cease residence in your previous country.
- Keep a calendar of presence **and working days**, with travel records, accommodation records and invoices.
- Have an adviser check each destination’s rules and treaties against your itinerary, including the Asian countries.
- Confirm your social-security coverage and whether an **A1 certificate** is appropriate for the European travel.
- Check VAT registration and invoicing. Services supplied by an EU business to a business in another EU country usually use reverse charge. [EU VAT guidance](https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/finance-and-tax/vat/cross-border-vat/index_en.htm)

The French client’s location alone does not settle your personal tax position.

To identify the likely country of residence, the crucial missing facts are **your current tax residence, where you retain a home/family ties, your exact days in each country over this and the preceding year, and which Asian countries you will visit**.