Well I've contacted PMI and they confirmed that neither job title nor form of employment do not matter as long as it was project management job. The question is closed:)
To report 3 yrs of PM work, I need to count some time that I worked as a sole proprietor (marketing/management/business development consulting). This indeed included lots of project management, and I have a partner who can be my contact person and confirm as well as (if required) my clients. The question is whether this is acceptable? I did not find any specifics about it, so please advise!
Training for Project Management Professional (PMP)®, PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)®, and Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)®