The guidance
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus ... nts#above1
states
Absence exceeding 12 months
Under Appendix EU, your ‘continuous qualifying period’ of residence will not be broken where you have been absent for a single period of up to 12 months for an ‘important reason’.
Examples of an ‘important reason’ include (but are not limited to):
pregnancy
childbirth
serious illness
study
vocational training
an overseas posting
It also includes where, as set out above, you have been absent because of coronavirus.
However, if you have been absent for an ‘important reason’ – whether because of coronavirus or for another important reason – but your absence has exceeded 12 months because coronavirus meant you were prevented from, or advised against, returning to the UK earlier, you have exceeded the absence permitted under Appendix EU.
You can still apply to the EU Settlement Scheme where you can evidence that this extended absence is because coronavirus meant you were prevented from, or advised against, returning to the UK within 12 months and for a period thereafter.
This includes (but is not limited to) where you can show you were:
ill with coronavirus
in quarantine, self-isolating or shielding in accordance with local public health guidance on coronavirus
caring for a family member affected by coronavirus
prevented from returning earlier to the UK due to travel disruption caused by coronavirus
advised by your university or employer not to return to the UK, and to continue studying or working remotely from your home country, due to coronavirus
This means that where, after an absence of 12 months for an ‘important reason’, coronavirus meant you were prevented from, or advised against, returning to the UK within 12 months, you will be treated as not having broken your continuous qualifying period of residence.
Read examples of evidence that you can provide to confirm your absence and the reason for it see.
The period of absence exceeding 12 months will not be counted towards your continuous qualifying period of residence under the EU Settlement Scheme. Your continuous qualifying period will be paused from the point your absence reached 12 months and will resume from the point you return to the UK.
Where you hold pre-settled status, and this is due to expire before you can complete the continuous qualifying period of residence required for you to be eligible for settled status, you will be able to apply for a further grant of pre-settled status.
As you departed in 2019, way before the pandemic started, and your absence (until Oct 2020, by which it had already been a year since you had left the UK) wasn't due to coronavirus, you need to wait until 2026 to apply. If your pre-settled status expires before then, you can apply for another extension and apply for settled status once you have 5 years of continuous residence.
All advice comes from personal research and experience and should not be regarded as professional opinion.
