International exchange students from some British and American universities were instructed they must immediately leave by their home universities - which paid for their flights.

“I am not aware of any Australian friends being reimbursed for the flights back home,” he said.

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Monash said it “may” offer financial assistance.

On Saturday night as riot police appeared on the road outside campus and argued with protesters, he had booked a room in a hotel as a backup, but didn’t use it.

“I feel at home on campus and I don’t feel any reason to leave.”

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Many of his friends left for beach locations in Asia this weekend after HKU classes were cancelled.

“It seems like there is a satellite campus of HKU in Thailand doing assignments online in villas,” he said on Sunday morning.

He says there is a “whole spectrum” of responses to the situation from international students - some people don’t want to go and are being told they must, others want to go home but the university wont pay.

The HKU vice-president Ian Halliday has reached out to international students.

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There is a free shuttle bus running from the campus to the airport and the express rail to mainland China.

“It seems every mainland student has gone to Shenzhen.”

Alumni have been arriving to drop off food supplies as restaurants on campus have closed.

MacIsaac and other Australian students who spoke to the Sydney Morning Herald said they chose to study in Hong Kong because it was a fun city that was “Asia but familiar”.

He arrived in August and plans to leave on schedule in 10 days.

The barricading of HKU was sparked when police raided a student dormitory located just outside the campus at 1.10am last Monday and arrested a student. Four more students were arrested hours later, outside the gate.

The HKU vice-chancellor Zhang Xiang sent an email to staff and students saying police had entered the campus, despite an agreement with the university that they wouldn’t enter the main campus without a search warrant.