This study contributes to postcolonial research perspectives that see international student migration as expressions of neocolonial power dynamics. It was initiated soon after the Swedish Migration Agency had published a report that accused non-European university students of “abusing” their study permit to work. The debate has continued in Swedish media and uni-versities but lacks the perspectives of the students themselves.This research focuses on students’ perspectives conducting a qualitative interview study with 11 non-European university students in Sweden. It aims to analyze the impact of the legal status on the socio-economic situation of non-European students from postcolonial and critical social work perspectives. Moreover, the study has sought to start a process of needs definition, investigating in which ways the needs of non-European students are met by existing support systems.Most of the participants experienced their socio-economic situation while studying in Sweden as “hard”. Their legal status, the tuition fees, and racism led to frequent experiences of “being stopped”. The social suffering that many participants experienced due to the high financial and mental pressure was identified as legal violence, i.e., violence that is produced and normalized by law. Meanwhile, the internalization of neoliberal ideology undermined student solidarity. Lastly, concrete needs and possibilities for change were identified.