Will Upwork flag my account if I'm not in the country stated on my profile for over 3 months?

[c929c498]

I've been hearing that some freelancers are being asked to re-verify their IDs, getting suspended, or outright banned for not being in their listed location for a certain period of time. I have to travel in mid-June this year for some personal concerns involving health and family. I'll be back end of September or the beginning of October. That's almost 3.5 months and it could be more depending on circumstances.

I'm super anxious about this situation given that I provide honest and hard work as a content writer on Upwork. I'd love to make Upwork my primary source of income as I truly have no other way to support myself. I don't want my efforts to go to waste over something like an inconsistent log-in location. I've heard Upwork is extremely strict and often doesn't provide clear reasons for why they choose to ban people even when everything seems to be going smoothly.

I've also heard of some writers on Upwork getting banned for having their VPNs on when trying to access other websites for research or design work (Pinterest, Twitter, some reputable news sites, and other useful tools are disabled where I currently live). After listening to such harsh stories, I feel more insecure about my presence on this platform, and many people have attempted to discourage me from relying on Upwork too much for these reasons. I understand it's not a very friendly platform for certain countries, but I want to try my best to make it work despite what others tell me.

Can someone please clarify my concerns and offer advice?

Sincerely,

Mahum Moazzam

[PradeepH]

Hi Mahum,

Thank you for your message. I understand your concern. If you are traveling and are away from your country of residence temporarily, you don’t need to update your location. If it does raise any flags on our end, the team will reach out to you directly. Please respond to the team as soon as possible and adhere to the request initiated on your account. 

If however, you are going to be away for an extended period, such as moving some place for an extended time, then you should make updates to your account location. Please make sure you have an appropriate visa type or permit to work in a country you are situated in and pay taxes accordingly. You may need to consult with a legal advisor about it. 

Thank you,

Pradeep

[yofazza]

VPN

I often browse with VPN because even Reddit and Vimeo are blocked here. Mods also confirmed in many occasions that it's alright.

many people have attempted to discourage me from relying on Upwork too much

That's actually not a discouragement but a good advice.