Australian universities attract increasing numbers of students from the Asia-Pacific region. It is important, therefore, that academics have meaningful understandings of these students in order to provide them with a supportive learning environment. This article suggests that part of this understanding is being aware of the ways in which some of these students perceive they are seen by those in the receiving countries and the discourses which may feed these perceptions. The qualitative study reported here outlines the perceptions of 10 Vietnamese offshore postgraduates (VOPs) and nine Asian onshore postgraduates (AOPs) from different Asian countries at an Australian university. All participants were English language teachers. Findings revealed that while both groups perceived themselves to be viewed in appealing ways, they also imagined themselves seen in pejorative ways. They claimed to be affected by this, particularly the offshore Vietnamese students, suggesting the need for strategies to mediate disempowering discourses on campuses.