Apply for permanent residency document as EU citizen in UK

[mgilgar]

I am a EU citizen and I have been living in UK for 8 years and half but last year (from april 2014 to beginning of October, although during that period I came to the UK a couple of times for a couple of days) I have been outside the country for more than 6 months in total.

I read that to apply for permanent residency document as an EU citizen I should have been living for 5 years with absences no more than 6 months per year.

My questions are:
-If we take the last 5 years, I do not fulfil the requirements but before that there is a period when I have been living for 5 years without such a long absences, for instance: from 2007 to 2012 or from 2008 to 2013, basically from 2007 to April 2014. Would I fulfil the requirements or does it only count the last 5 years?
-When do they start counting the years? Beginning of the year? When I first arrive to UK? exactly 5 years ago from the application date?
I was wondering if I can choose another date (a date where I was travelling to the UK and consider that my first date as far as the application is concerned) in a way that I can split this absence in two, only landing in one year and another one in the other year so that one years absence would be three month and the other year would be the rest.

Thanks in advance.

[boloney]

Use any 5 years period.