In the scope of higher education internationalization, Portuguese universities have been receiving an increasing number of students from Portuguese-speaking countries, namely African countries, at the level of PhD studies. As highlighted in research, pursuing a PhD in an overseas context entails critical challenges for students, supervisors, and higher education institutions. Against this background, this article reports on the challenges faced by international African students attending a PhD program in education at a Portuguese university. I conducted semi-structured interviews with seven students, and results from thematic analysis show that the main challenges relate to language, integration into a different pedagogical/academic culture, adaptation to a different research culture, loneliness/homesickness, and financial difficulties. Implications of findings for institutional policy and practice are put forward.