IP addresses different depending on the country?

[TJarlie]

Hello, are the IP addresses different depending on the country I am in? According to my employer, I am not allowed to work abroad. He would know where I am via GSM. At Starlink too?

[RicochetStarlink]

Sort of. Internet users are assigned an IP address by their ISP (i.e., Starlink). The IP address assigned to you will be based on the location of your ISP's point of presence (PoP). For land-based ISPs, this is generally nearby your location. For Starlink, it depends on the location of the ground station where the satellite connects to forward your traffic.

So, for instance, I live in West Tennessee, but my IP Starlink IP Address is generally located in Dallas because the Dallas PoP is where most of the satellite passing over my location are connecting to deliver my traffic.

In countries outside the US, I have heard reports that a user's assigned IP address may actually be in a neighboring country becuase that is the location of the nearest Starlink PoP.

The only way to control the IP Address seen by the places you connect (including your employer) is to use a VPN service and connect to one of their VPN servers in the location that you wish to appear. However, there are two BIG caveats here.

Firstly, your employer's network may or may not tolerate a VPN connection at all. VPN's can be problematic for certain kinds of traffic and/or certain providers. For example, banking applications are notorious for shutting you out if you are on a VPN. No, I'm not sure how they know...

Secondly, International Laws have something to say about you working abroad as well. If you work abroad for more than 30 days, you and your employer are legally required to notify both the US government (IRS) and the local government where you are working and to remit the correct payroll taxes to both the the US government and to the nation where you are working. Violation of these laws fall under the tax code and carry very stiff penalties. For this reason, many employers do NOT allow employees to work abroad, especially if the employer does not have other employees in the country where you would be working.

Long story short, consult an attorney to understand the risks involved before you decide to move to Borneo to work from home for your current employer using a VPN to mask your location. You might be opening a big hornet's nest.