I think you have to be a member for 30 or 45 days, I forget which one it is as its been awhile, and your account has to be in good standing, as mentioned above.
I am not too sure, I have had an acct with them for a while and didn't have any issues with getting approved. I would also think your acct must be in the clear with a good standing record.
If you have a merchant account, they will generally issue you a debit card (that you can use at the ATM) so that you can access your funds right away. Is that what you are referring to or do you want a credit card?
I didn't have trouble with it. It's under a parent's name, I was a member for a long time, and had a premium account. I don't think you can do it with a personal.
I gotta look into this again. My wife has had her Paypal account for some 8 years now I believe. Although she's american, I think we might run into problems since we live in Europe.