->'''Fez:''' That Tomas is shady. But have you noticed he never says what country he's from?\\
'''Hyde:''' ''[beat]'' What country are ''you'' from?
-->-- ''Series/That70sShow''

A character is obviously "not from around here", but where they actually ''are'' from is kept a mystery. They don't even name a NoCommunitiesWereHarmed pretend country like {{Qurac}} or {{Bulungi}}.

It's possible that it's AllThereInTheManual, but you won't get any hints in the show itself. Their name doesn't give any hints, it just [[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign Sounds Foreign]], and their accent [[JustAStupidAccent doesn't sound like that]] [[WhatTheHellIsThatAccent of any real country]].

They're likely to talk about TheOldCountry a lot without ever telling you what it is. Can be played for drama to hint at a character having a MysteriousPast, but more common as a way to create the ultimate FunnyForeigner--you can use all the best stereotypes without offending ''anyone''! Of course, if a home country is ever revealed or [[{{Fanon}} deduced]], all of this becomes MisaimedStereotyping and will probably continue to happen because of how it's still funny.

Other characters may have their own assumptions, but these will be met by conflicting evidence, disagreement from others and [[MistakenNationality offended denials by the foreigner himself]] ("Hungarian!? The Hungarians are our ''mortal enemies!''"). The author, if pressed, will probably respond with a ShrugOfGod.

A popular variant in the UK is the "Eurotrash" character, someone whose origin can be loosely classed as Central/Western Europe but no narrower than that, speaking fluent English with an accent that hopscotches between Swedish, French, German, Italian…

Their reticence to talk about where they come from may be [[{{Foreshadowing}} an early hint]] that they're a {{Fauxreigner}}.

Compare AmbiguouslyBrown, which can overlap with this trope. Contrast ButNotTooForeign. See also WhereTheHellIsSpringfield, for when it's the setting of the show that's ambiguously located. The real life version as applied to versatile actors is PlaysGreatEthnics.
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!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Advertising]]
* Lampshaded with the Advertising/{{Geico}} Gecko, a tropical lizard with a Cockney accent -- one ad centers on people asking where he's from, and it deliberately cuts off before he answers. To add to the confusion he was originally voiced by Creator/KelseyGrammer in a very twee Northeastern American accent.
* The UK mascot of the "Euromillions" European lottery, absurdly wealthy jet-setting millionaire "Hector Riva".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* Trowa Barton in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing.'' Of the members of his MultinationalTeam, he's the only one without a listed ethnicity. The fandom presumes he's either Latin American or European, but even that is pretty broad. The name doesn't indicate anything, as [[NeverGivenAName he was born without being given one (or at least doesn't know his real name)]] and assumed the name of "Trowa Barton" from someone else.
* [[SplitPersonality Kaere/Kaede]] Kimura from ''Manga/SayonaraZetsubouSensei'' went on an exchange program overseas and then back to Japan. To which country is anyone's guess. At first it seemed it was to America, until she started talking about some... [[CultureClash unusual customs]] in whichever country it was.
* ''Manga/{{Yotsuba}}'' has only ever referred to Yotsuba's birthplace as "an island to the left". Even in-universe, nobody has a clue what that means, and her appearance -- green eyes and [[CurtainsMatchTheWindow green hair]] -- gives no hint.
* The DWMA in ''Manga/SoulEater'' has students and staff from all over the world, but the series' cast is pretty much either explicitly Japanese (Black Star, Tsubaki, Mifune, Azusa, [[ButNotTooForeign Maka's]] mother) or potentially anything ''but'' Japanese. The Thompson Sister are American and two meister/weapon pairs (one of which is a Death Scythe) are Russian, but you can't really nail anyone else to a region more specific than a continent. Their [[AerithAndBob names]], [[CreatorsCultureCarryover mannerisms]], and [[{{Mukokuseki}} faces]] don't really give many hints. Witches especially seem to be ethnically ambiguous in-universe and supplant the culture of their birth nation with that of their MageSpecies: one conversation in ''Manga/SoulEaterNot'' has people assuming [[spoiler:Kim]] is from everywhere from Korea to ''Spain''.
* ''Manga/DeathNote'': The Wammy's kids. L is later said to be a mix of Japanese, English, Russian, and either Italian or French. Mello's real name, Mihael Keehl, suggests a mix of Croatian and German although this is not confirmed. Matt's real name, Mail Jeevas, is quite a bit harder to pin down in terms of an ethnic background or a country of origin. Near's ethnic background is also unconfirmed. (The LightNovel ''Literature/LChangeTheWorld'' ''does'' name a Thai boy as Near, but he does not appear to be related in any way to the Near from the series proper]].) Beyond Birthday is a self-chosen nickname, and Rue Ryuuzaki is just an alias.[[note]] Though it ''is'' possible that that's a case of RealNameAsAnAlias.[[/note]]
* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesDiamondAndPearl'': In the English dub, Nando has a name of Hispanic origin and a thick, vaguely European-sounding accent.
* Olivia from ''Manga/AsobiAsobase'' has an English name and the typical [[PhenotypeStereotype blonde hair and blue eyes]] to mark her as a foreigner despite living in Japan all her life, but it's never stated where her family is actually from. Her classmates assume she's American, but she has yet to confirm this.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* During Admiral Awesome's introductory scene in Fanfic/TwilightSparklesAwesomeAdventure, one of his enemies is identified as speaking in a "funny foreign accent".
* In the ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' AU "[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/11014245/chapters/50936371 What if Elfangor and Loren raised Tobias?]]", Elfangor (an alien in human ModeLock) claims he's from "a piece of Balkan territory that has changed hands so many times Alan himself doesn’t know what country it is today".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]
* Serge in the ''Film/BeverlyHillsCop'' franchise. What the heck was that accent supposed to be?
* Janosz Poha in ''Film/GhostbustersII'' spoke with a non-specific (Eastern European?) foreign accent. When asked where he's "from," he admits only to living in "zee upper-vest side" of Manhattan.
* Raoul Silva in ''Film/{{Skyfall}}''. Played by a Spanish actor who applies English "received pronunciation" vowels over his own accent, using a Portuguese name. [[spoiler:His real name, Thiago Rodriguez, doesn't narrow the field any more.]]
* Adrian Veidt in the film version of ''Film/{{Watchmen}}'', though he successfully hides it in public. This technically applies to the comic version as well, given a vague reference to "the year [his] parents arrived in America", though in that one he has no stated accent and never presents as anything but wholesomely all-American.
* ''Film/TheWarriorsWay'': Yang's country of origin is never clear and seems to be a general mish-mash of Asian cultures.
* Nazo in ''Film/BigDaddy''. All we ever learn about him is that he's illegal, semi-literate, and is fond of "lamb and tuna fish" [[ForeignQueasine (yes, together)]]. He's played by the half-Jewish, half-Filipino Rob Schneider.
* The villains in ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' are connected to some vaguely Middle Eastern country, but their ultimate origins are deliberately left a mystery.
* In ''Film/TheRoom2003'', Johnny has [[WhatTheHellIsThatAccent some sort of foreign accent]] and makes a single reference to arriving in the country years back, but never reveals where he's from. The actor, Creator/TommyWiseau, was himself this as he was known for going through great lengths to hide his Polish origins until a lawsuit forced him to reveal it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* Goran from ''Literature/{{Damned}}''. Madison describes him as having thick, dark hair and a Transylvanian accent, but admits that she does not know where he's from. To her HorribleHollywood parents who adopted him as a publicity stunt, it probably didn't matter.
* Ax in ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' comes off as this in-universe in his human morph. As it contains DNA from four different people (two of them white, one Latino and one African-American), and he introduced himself as being from various countries, culminating in Canada ("I am from Canada. I am Canadese.")
* The Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse novel ''Harvest of Time'' says the Delgado incarnation of the Master "looked foreign, but his accent was impeccably British", without explaining how someone can just look "foreign". Of course, he's actually ''[[HumanAliens really]]'' not from around here.
* ''Literature/CardsOnTheTable'': Nobody is actually sure where Mr Shaitana comes from -- apparently all Englishmen who know him regard him as a "dago" whom they want to kick, but they have no idea "whether [he] was an Argentine, or a Portuguese, or a Greek, or some nationality rightly despised by the insular Briton..." It's later stated that he has family in Syria, although whether he himself is actually from there isn't stated.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* Fez from ''Series/That70sShow'' is from some ambiguous foreign country (probably from [[SouthOfTheBorder somewhere in South or Central America]]). His real name [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname isn't even available]] as a clue to his origins. His nickname is actually a (quasi-)acronym, short for "Foreign Exchange Student." Complicating matters further, a fellow countryman visited in one episode, played by a white actor with an exaggerated English accent and when asked where they were from, they stated "It depends on whether you ask the British or the Dutch."
** Some of the [[WildMassGuessing Wild Mass Guesses]] include the West Indies, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Suriname, and Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Virgin Islands, and the Falkland Islands.
* The "Channel 9" broadcasters on ''Series/TheFastShow'' were vaguely Mediterranean, but their language was a mixture of pure gibberish and British cultural references. Wherever country they were from, all we know is that the weather is consistently "scorchio".
* In ''Series/GameOfThrones'', Tyrion asks Shae (played by German actress Creator/SibelKekilli) what kind of accent she has, and she simply replies, "Foreign." Cersei suspects she's from the Free City of Lorath, but Shae doesn't directly confirm or deny this. The fact that a different character with a German accent claims to be from Lorath does add some credibility to Cersei's deduction, however.
** Likewise in ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'', Mysaria used to a slave from an unspecified part of Essos (Lys in the book).
* Andy Kaufman's "Foreign Man" was like this originally. Then he became a regular on ''Series/{{Taxi}}'' and got a name and backstory. He was from "Caspiar," an island in the Caspian Sea. [[RuleOfFunny It sunk.]]
* Eric Kleig and Kaftan in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' story "Tomb of the Cybermen". Non-specific accents, various ambiguous foreign cultural signifiers, a touch of {{Brownface}} and general shiftiness.
* In one episode of ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'', Dennis decides he needs to meet some Europeans to improve his sex life, because EuropeansAreKinky. He meets a guy named Jan with a vaguely German/Dutch accent who is only ever described, by himself or others, as "European".
* Ishboo was a recurring foreign exchange student on ''Series/AllThat'' with an abundance of bizarre cultural traditions that he'd insist others join in. Whenever someone asked where he was from, he'd brush off the question. It was sometimes implied that he [[{{Fauxreigner}} wasn't a foreigner, and was just messing with everyone]].
* The host characters of ''Series/VivaVariety'' were originally supposed to be generically European; however, most viewers perceived Mr. and the former Mrs. Laupin to be French, and eventually it was implied that they were. Johnny Bluejeans' origins were left vague. It's also suggested at other times that they hailed from somewhere on the eastern side of the Berlin Wall, such as Mr. Laupin's comment on a crappy "Beach Blanket" film he and Agatha starred in: "To celebrate our success, we used the money from the film to buy some toilet paper and a cabbage... Good livin'." American blue jeans were also famously popular contraband in the Soviet Union.
* One of the Series/Danger5 is Pierre, from an unspecified European country.
* ''Series/Daredevil2015'': Wilson Fisk's girlfriend Vanessa speaks with a foreign accent and is in the country on a visa, but she never speaks her native language and we never learn what country she hails from. The actress is Israeli.
* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S3E3TheShelter The Shelter]]", after the crisis begins, Frank Henderson is continually racist towards the foreign-born Marty Weiss, describing him as a "pushy, grabby, semi-American" and later refers to "you and your kind." However, it is never stated what country Marty is from.
* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': both Adar and Arondir are elves from an unspecified part of Beleriand before it was sank.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
* Mr. Knack from ''Series/EureekasCastle'' has a nondescript European accent. His puppeteer, Brian Muehl, was instructed to perform him as though he came from a country called "Ethnia".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theatre]]
* Aldolpho from ''Theatre/TheDrowsyChaperone'', who has an accent, but not a specific one.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* Dr. Vahlen from ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'', whose accent is an odd hybrid of French and German. The fandom's best guess is that she's from somewhere near the border between the two countries and spent a lot of time travelling back and forth between them in her youth.
* Soma Cruz is introduced in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaAriaOfSorrow'' as a ForeignExchangeStudent currently studying in Japan. His ethnicity is anyone's guess: his first name suggests that he's Greek, his surname suggests that he's Spanish, a certain TomatoInTheMirror moment suggests that he's Romanian, etc... (This is, oddly enough, a case of AdaptationalNationality, or lack thereof: in Japanese he's unambiguously a native, with his name being "Kurusu Souma". Why the English version made him a foreigner is anyone's guess.)
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Dr. Nick Riviera in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''. He also has a case of WhatTheHellIsThatAccent. The audio commentary for "Homer's Triple Bypass" states that his design is based on [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A1bor_Csup%C3%B3 Gabor Csupo]] while his accent is a bad imitation of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desi_Arnaz Desi Arnaz]]. "Vieira" is also a fairly common ethnic Portuguese name, while "Rivera" is common in Spanish, while The French Riviera is a place doctors retire to.
* Rolf in ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy''. Wherever he's from (let's call it [[{{Ruritania}} "Fictitioustan"]]), it's apparently a cultural mishmash of Western and Eastern European, with a little West Asia and a sprinkle of Romani on top.
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' made a CutawayGag about two guys who don't really have much of an accent, but speak in a way that you can tell that they're not from the US. They've become occasional {{Recurring Character}}s
* Parodied in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "Raging Bender" with the ForeignWrestlingHeel bit character, whose stage name is simply "The Foreigner".
-->'''The Foreigner:''' I'm not from here! I have my ''own'' customs! Look at my ''CRAAAAAAZY'' passport!
* The ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'' episode "To Helga and Back" has a foreign girl named Helga delivered to Johnny after he sends for the perfect woman. The end of the episode has her state in her own words that she is from an indeterminate country.
* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPandaLegendsOfAwesomeness'': Kim the Invincible is one of two foreign villains who appears in the series, being a powerful hippo who's wandered the world, defeating its greatest warriors and targeting Po as his latest trophy. While it's made clear he's not from China, it's never explicitly established where he came from exactly. He does sound vaguely British but not even that helps to narrow things down because there are plenty of other villains in the franchise who are presented as being native to China but yet have an EvilBrit accent.
* The mice from the ''WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot'' episode "Pest Control". Sure, the joke is that the group is a {{Dirty Commies}} {{Expy}}, but at one point Vladimir calls Jenny an "infidel" which is a stereotypical turn of phrase from a decidedly different region.
[[/folder]]
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