MN1 Section 1(3) questions

Hi,

my wife and I are EU citizens who have been continuously living in the UK for 5+ years (we actually lived 8+ years but had a 1.5 year gap in the middle). We married in the UK. Both our children were born in the UK.

As such, I am planning to have them register as British Citizens under section 1(3).

Now I do have a ton of questions, but the first one is:

* do I and/or my wife need to register for PR first? As far as I understand, EU citizens are not required to ask for PR since it is automatically given?
* Therefore should I apply directly with MN1 for both kid, and in that case should I provide 5 years of proof of residence, or will HO check automatically (through income tax, employment records, etc..)?

I'd rather avoid the hassle of PR if it's not needed and if that status is given automatically anyhow. So should I do it, or should I start straight with MN1 (and if the latter, what mitigating documents, if any, should I provide on top of the official list?)

Thanks

Apologies for the bump.

Does anyone know whether EU parents (from older EU countries, not the recent ones) need to ask formally for PR through a EEA3 (or other) request before registering their UK born children through section 1(3) of document MN1? Or can we skip directly to MN1 without going through EEA3?