The Verdict: Need More Info
Working for yourself needs the long-term residence permit for doing business. Obtain a Czech trade licence (živnostenské oprávnění) for your field first; the application is built on it.
The permit turns on that authorisation and on being able to support yourself, not on a job offer or salary threshold, and it asks no minimum investment. The business must be real and run from Czechia, and tax, social and health insurance obligations start at once. The citizenship stage later looks back three years over them.
If your work is IT or marketing, you hold one of thirteen qualifying nationalities and you have not held a Czech long-term visa in the past year, the digital nomad programme may be quicker, with a 45-day decision. Our Digital Nomad quiz covers it.
Either way, permanent residence comes after five years and citizenship five years later, with the B1 Czech exam.