Say I have a character whose ZOI is listed as "Bretonia only" (not a real one before anyone asks). Does that mean that the character has to stay in Bretonian space, or is he free to explore anywhere as long as he doesn't do things like pirate or pvp others outside his ZOI?
Most ID's are free to explore anywhere, irregardless of their ZoI, however most ID's can only act in self-defense outside of it.
As far as I'm aware, the only ID restricted to stay in it's ZoI is the Nomad Indie ID, which may not leave the omicrons, tau-37 and omegas (except for 3, 7 and 11).
If an ID is limited in where it can/can't go, it will say on the ID lines, as the Nomad Indie does