FLR(M) to SET-M Out of country for a long time

[alexanoon]

Hi one of my friend's husband has been given a 2 year visa on FLR-M last year june. He has been out of the country for about 8 months (in all) to resolve a dispute in his home country. can he still apply for Settlement using the SET-M form after the 2 year period ends or will he have to apply for extension to remain in UK again using FLR-M as he has been away for a while.
His timeliness (as provided to me ) are below:
came to uk as student 01/02/2010
applied and granted psw 21/05/2011
married and granted flr-m 25/11/2011
flr-m valida till 20/11/2013
out of country for a total of 245 days

Would be great if you could please advise if he can still apply for SET-M or if he has been out of country for too long.
thanks
alexa

[vinny]

See also Time spent outside the UK.