According to their policies, if you want to relocate, you have to tell the company which will choose to extend you a new contract or not.
(Presumably this partially relates to salary but they also make the point they're really not indifferent to location. They take things like timezones, proximity to customers, etc. into account.)
So, essentially, even though you're "remote", you are tied to your current location and you're their bitch. Reject companies like GitLab, don't work there, don't support that.
Some companies are more flexible than others, but it's pretty common that "remote" employees can't just pickup and move anywhere in the world they feel like it. Honestly, if one really wants to have that kind of flexibility they should probably consider consulting.
GitLab hires all "employees" in non-mainstream locations as contractors anyways. So, legally, it is consulting. But they treat you like an employee anyway. Legal grey area?
I don't really care about the legal status. I was suggesting that, as a truly independent contractor, you can set your own rates and if you're fulfilling your contract remotely you can certainly choose to charge the same whether you're in SF or a beach in Thailand.
I care if it's legal or not. But hiring people as full employees requires certain legal structures/organizations to be in place in a location. There are costs associated with setting up those structures. This often doesn't make sense if there's only one person in a country or other such political entity.
Small companies do indeed not expand geographically for this reason--or hire through a partner or other entity that is already established there.
(Presumably this partially relates to salary but they also make the point they're really not indifferent to location. They take things like timezones, proximity to customers, etc. into account.)