Can I apply for permanent residence card?

Hello. I am from Holland and I've been living in the UK since 2007. I had a job from 2007 until 2013. But in end of 2013 I quit my job because of some health problems. I started working again two months ago. In this gap I was receiving some benefits (child benefit and child tax credit for the time that I was paying taxes).
Can I get a permanent residence card and apply for british citizenship? I have 5 years of treaty rights but since then I have been unemployed and on benefits so can I still go for it?thanks!

If you were not absent for more than 6 months per year during those 5 years as well as were not absent for more than 2 years after those 5 years then you may already been acquired the permanent residence. You can proceed to British citizenship even without skipping the permanent residence application but if you apply & get the PR then it will lower the risk of loosing the British citizenship fee if failed.

sheraz7-that's correct, I wasn't absent for more than 2 months per year during those 5 years of EU rights. thank you very much for your help. Yes I plan to apply for the card first and save me some trouble with the BC application.
I wasn't sure if I have lost my permanent residence because I was unemployed and on benefits for some time after the 5 years. thank you again!

For PR confirmation only 5 years of treaty rights but continuous are usually required of any time and beyond that time your unemployment or claiming benefits will be irrelevant.

Hi thomasd,

You certainly can as sheraz7 says.
My EEA partner just received his PR card. He has been in the UK since 2008. However he used the period between Jan 2009- Jan 2014 to prove his treaty rights. So you can basically choose any continuous period in teh time you spent here. In your case you can comfortably leave out the 2013 period when you did not work. As long as you have all the proof for the 5 years before/without any extended absences.
All the best!