These passengers were the last to arrive on Australian soil before the government enforced ban. From now only Australian citizens, permanent residents and immediate family members will be allowed in to the country.

There were tears of relief as and hugs of joy as relatives anxiously greeted loved ones.

UK citizen Simon Rose was delighted to make it into Sydney seven minutes before the deadline.

Simon, originally from Maidenhead packed up his life in Dubai in just six hours after hearing the border was about to close.

He had planned to marry his fiancée, Bushra Ali, an Australian resident in the UK in April but those plans changed at lightning speed.

He heard the borders were closing at 4pm and had jumped on a plane with his life's belongings by 10pm.

He said: "I made it just in time, with seven minutes to go."

The couple now plan to spend some time planning their wedding while in self isolation.

One couple had narrowly made it out of Egypt, cutting short their 26 day tour when they heard flights were stopping. They flew to Dubai and then to Sydney after days of trying to get home.

"I'm relieved to be home," said Milva Nagle from Sydney. "We were on the Nile when this all started, with limited wifi. We tried to get out of Egypt but it was cancelled and eventually we got the last flight out of Egypt."

Milva and her husband, Andrew, said their tour operator Tripadeal.com had been fantastic but their 26-day trip of a lifetime had been cut by a third.

Shannon Hines, 25, a nurse from Sydney said she couldn't wait to get a shower. She had cut short her two and half week holiday in London, visiting a friend, because she was worried she'd be trapped in the UK.

She will now go into isolation and once she has the all clear she expects that she will soon be working taking care of patients.

She said: "I was quite anxious about the whole thing. By the day before I was due to fly London was closing down tube stations. I thought if I didn't get out by the weekend I would be trapped."

Timmy Manson, 20, nervously waited for his girlfriend, Georgie, 23.

A UK citizen she was flying into Sydney from New Zealand. The couple were due to reunite in April but the sudden border closure from Australia saw her bring their plans forward and book onto the first available flight into Sydney.

Timmy said: "Since she has a UK passport I wasn't sure she'd get here. It is a massive relief."

Timmy, a ski instructor, was tested for COVID-19 two weeks ago after returning from his ski job in Japan. He'd been hoping to start the winter ski season in New Zealand but now the future is uncertain.

Australia has progressively shut down its borders, banning people first from China, then Iraq, South Korea and Italy. On Sunday, it imposed a compulsory 14-day quarantine for anyone arriving in Australia, including citizens.