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What eSIM options are available for expats in Thailand looking for long-term SIM solutions?

Thai eSIM non-immigrant OA visa expat SIM cards retirement visa SIM card registration Thai mobile carriers prepaid SIM postpaid SIM SIM card recommendations

May 12, 2025

2 days ago

ORIGINAL POSTER

My wife and I hope to arrive in Bangkok on non-immigrant OA visas at the beginning of July. We normally get tourist SIMs but this time, we'd like to get numbers that we can extend and use once we get our retirement visas. Can anyone recommend an esim that we can sign up for from outside the country and which we can use indefinitely? Grateful for any suggestions.

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TLDR : Answer Summary

A user is seeking recommendations for an eSIM that can be signed up for before arriving in Thailand, to use with non-immigrant OA visas and eventually retirement visas. The community suggests that it's better to acquire a SIM card locally upon arrival in Thailand to ensure compliance with local regulations and ease of registration with Thai carriers. Various comments emphasize the importance of getting a SIM with a registered Thai number to enable the use of Thai banking apps.

NON-O RETIREMENT VISA RESOURCES / SERVICES

Go to the Retirement Visa Section for information on requirements, including age restrictions, financial requirements, and necessary documentation.
For immediate assistance, contact Thai Visa Centre directly via LINE at @ThaiVisaCentre or Email them.
Explore recent discussions by using the Non-O Retirement Visa tag in the search box at the top of the page.
Join the Thai Visa Advice Facebook Group to ask your questions, and get advice from others.

Pelle Eriksson

Pelle Eriksson★★★★★

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Luca G.

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Robert ********

Everything outside is way more expensive than a Thai sim/esim.

I had prepaid AIS for years (and now for daughter) with reduced speed but unlimited data.

***

/4Mbps, 1 is enough for YouTube, 4 is ok for 2 devices on Netflix.

(I have switched to postpaid now for the watch)

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Jeremy ********

Get a visa then you can get a post paid (monthly) E-Sim from any of the carriers…you can also get the prepaid tag Thai app that will allow you to do the QR payment until you get a Thai bank acct…almost everywhere takes QR scanning for payment from street food vendors to Macro

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Nongnuch ********

@Jeremy *******

absolutely NOT advisable. Read what

@Brandon ***********

commented. It's the only valuable advice here

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Jeremy ********

@Nongnuch *******

i did it for the SIM…and yes they do hard s orepsuf app for scanning and yes they do use scanning for everything from street food payments to macro. Prove me wrong

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Nongnuch ********

@Jeremy *******

complete and utter BS

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Jeremy ********

@Nongnuch *******

really…please tell me how I got my SIM card then…since you know everything

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Nongnuch ********

@Jeremy *******

watch your SIM card become useless

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Jeremy ********

@Nongnuch *******

nope I’m verified…plus I use the QR scan payment

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Nongnuch ********

@Jeremy *******

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Jeremy ********

@Nongnuch *******

you’re the all knowing…but you’re 100 billion percent wrong

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Reply to

Jeremy ********

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Marianne ********

I'm still rockin' my AIS "tourist" SIM purchased from the airport in 2021.

Just get it when you're here. Even get it at the air-port, and just top it up with a regular package of your choice when the initial package runs out.

I use the MySIM app from AIS, and it works like a charm.

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Marcels *********

u can just get a physical sim which is extendable at many

****

s

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Jeremy ********

@Marcels ********

I’ve seen so Many people get turned away from

****

trying to get a SIM card lately

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Brad *******

@Jeremy *******

maybe because they didnt have a passport with them.

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Jeremy ********

they had the passport

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Nongnuch ********

@Jeremy *******

in many places you since a few years need a TM30 registered accomodation adress in Thailand or a certificate of residence from Immigration, to get a SIM card, because for the SIM card registration process, your passport is not enough, they also need your adress

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Reply to

Nongnuch ********

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Brandon ************

Don't do this. If you plan to live in Thailand, get a sim card when you're IN Thailand, not one from online. You will need a Thai number with a Thai carrier registered under your name, or you won't be able to use a Thai bank account app. The Thai carriers can give you an e-sim instead of a regular sim card as part of your registration process.

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Braulio *********

@Brandon ***********

Totally correct

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Reply to

Braulio *********

Reply

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