Posting for traffic.
As the wife of an EU citizen who just got his Permanent Residency card (hurrah!), I just wanted to draw EU citizens' attention to the fact that, if you lived continuously in the UK for 5 years, you are probably eligible to apply for Permanent Residency (and then for naturalisation and a passport) and that you may wish to do this now, in advance of March 2019.
My German husband had no intention of planning for Permanent Residency (we didn't see the point until we knew exactly what the new 'rules' for EU citizens would be, post-Brexit) until someone pointed out to him that most Germans are only allowed to hold dual nationality of another EU country, and so if he wished to apply for British citizenship at some point in the future, he would have to surrender his German passport. However if he got his PR and citizenship before March, he would be allowed to keep both.
I pride myself on being a paperwork hoarder, but it still takes time to comprehensively prove you've been in the UK for 5 years. It probably took us 6 weeks to order and receive old bank statements, old water and electricity bills, to beg the GP to issue a letter confirming since when he had been a patient. It's basically 6 weeks of dealing with call centres, and it's not fun.
I am a lawyer, although not an immigration lawyer, and I have to admit I found the process quite complicated. (E.g. at the 11th hour, we realised my husband needed proof that he had held medical insurance in Germany, because he had been a student in the UK for part of his 5 year qualifying period. Cue liaising with a bemused German medical insurer and obtaining certified translations of the letter and policy schedule they graciously provided).
His application, once submitted, only took 3 and a half weeks, meaning he should have sufficient time to now do the naturalisation application before March, but please note the Home Office is allowed to take 6 months to determine an application, so if you want to get this sorted before March 2019, get cracking now!
You might think there's no need for you to act (and you're probably right) but what if you need or want to leave the UK? What if you or your spouse/partner is offered an overseas work posting for a year? Would you be subject to new immigration rules on your return to the UK after March 2019? Will the proposed new rules for 'foreigners' owning property in the UK affect you if you buy a house after March? Just some food for thought - I am not trying to scare monger.
I cannot give any advice, but am happy to try and answer questions. Mostly importantly, I just wanted to flag this topic for the attention of EU citizens :)