ILR 5-year route (with 390 days outside UK)

[rushi1379]

Hello everyone,
I need some guidance regarding my ILR application (to be submitted in October 2023).
My first Tier 2 (from tier 4) visa application was submitted in London on 19/11/2018 and was approved on 04/12/2018.
Some basic important information regarding my absence of 390 days ( 28/02/2020 to 23/03/2021 ) from UK.
I went to my home country for my wedding with a return ticket of 15/03/2020 but I had to stay for one more week so I rescheduled the ticket for 29/03/2020(this was cancelled as there was pandemic lockdown), later the COVID lockdown started and I got back in UK on 23/03/2021.
So my question is will I be eligible for ILR this October 2023 or as I was out of UK for more than 180 days my new continuous period starts from the 23/03/2021.
Please let me know what do you think about this.
Thank you for your time

[zimba]

This is up to the UKVI but I'd say unlikely. Travel was indeed disrupted but the UK borders were open and travel to the UK was possible, particularly in the summer of 2020. If you stayed outside the UK for more than a year and made no attempt to return, it would be very unlikely that you can simply use the pandemic as an excuse. It is probably fair that people who travelled via different routes, paid for tests, hotel quarantine, etc to maintain their residence in the UK be treated differently than people who simply did not want the hassle.

[rushi1379]

Thank you for your response @zimba and I agree with your "hassle" point of view.
It would be nice if someone can tell what should be the next step.

[zimba]

You may choose to apply anyway but you should be willing to accept a potential refusal and lose the fees paid.