"My father lives in a foreign country."

Translation: 父は外国に住んでいます。

[zanzaboonda]

Are the first two parts reversible? Could you say: 外国に父はすんでいます。

[airzae]

It doesn't really sound natural because the tendency is to put the topic (marked by は) at the start of the sentence like in english.

[James151779]

True, but this is Japanese, and it is perfectly readable (well, as good as I am at reading Japanese ) either way. I do admit that if one translated it directly in the same structure, it would sound a bit like Yoda. "In a foreign country, my father lives." But that is true of almost every sentence translation.

[elizadeux]

"In a foreign country, my father lives" is perfectly readable but not natural.

[msbarrios]

Would that mean that the topic marker refers to 'gaikokuni chichi'? Therefore becoming something different or nonsensical?

[lauraglot85]

父は外国に住んでいます

[MaynardHogg]

My father lives abroad—i.e., outside Japan.

[Cranberry4848]

外海 (がいかい) might be what you're looking for, meaning "overseas" or "abroad."