Following the birth of South Africa's democracy there has been an increasing number of foreign students entering the country. In the main, students from a very unstable African continent see South African tertiary institutions as a beacon of hope in achieving academic capital. Due to their monetary value, foreign students are welcomed into educational institutions, creating the perception that foreigners are academically and socially included. However, spatial access is not necessarily synonymous with inclusion. This article captures the experiences of inclusion, exclusion and marginalisation of a cohort of African international students at a private higher education institution in Johannesburg, South Africa. The study argues that the nature of educational inclusion is more multi-faceted than bi-directional with issues of power, overtly or subtly affecting student experience. Students' constructs of inclusion extend beyond formal acceptance and presence in lecture venues, to experiences of marginalisation, exclusion and alienation by both staff and peers. These experiences reinforce the students' vulnerability in terms of academic success as well as social acceptance. Management teams at educational institutions have the responsibility to provide adequate support to foreign students who view themselves as 'strangers in a new world … '