Phone and eSIM in Thailand: travel eSIM or a local Thai number

Two choices

	Travel eSIM (data only)	Local Thai SIM or eSIM
Thai phone number	No	Yes
Where	Online, before you fly	AIS or True store (or airport kiosk)
Registration	No in-person registration	In person with your passport
Best for	Tourists, short stays, trips abroad	DTV holders and long stays

(Thaiger, eSIM guide, fetched 2026-09-30.)

Option 1: travel eSIM (tourists)

Who it suits: short-stay visitors who don’t need a Thai number (Thaiger, fetched 2026-09-30).

Steps:

1. Check your phone supports eSIM. Most phones from 2020 onwards do, including every iPhone from the XR on (same source).
2. Buy a Thailand plan online.
3. Install it at home on Wi-Fi. Airalo says you can connect the eSIM in advance while outside the coverage area (Airalo, fetched 2026-09-30).
4. Switch it on when you land.

Why it’s worth it: you keep your home SIM active in the phone, so bank two-factor codes by SMS still reach you, and you skip airport SIM queues (Thaiger, fetched 2026-09-30).

What you get: Airalo’s Thailand plans are data plans, from 3 to 30 days, on the True network plus one other, and many can be topped up rather than rebought (Airalo, fetched 2026-09-30). See Airalo’s current plans and prices below.

Option 2: local Thai number (living here)

Who needs it: anyone who wants a Thai bank account, TrueMoney, LINE, Grab or other local apps that expect a Thai number (Thaiger, fetched 2026-09-30). TrueMoney sign-up uses a Thai mobile number and an SMS code (Thaiger, 7-Eleven guide, fetched 2026-09-30). (DTV holders: see Money and banking — a Thai number works even though a Thai bank account doesn’t.)

Steps:

1. Go to any AIS or True store with your passport.
2. Ask for an eSIM (or a physical SIM if your phone lacks eSIM). It takes about 15 minutes and the number is registered in your name.

(Thaiger, fetched 2026-09-30.)

Rules to know (same source):

• All SIMs, eSIMs included, must be registered to a valid passport under NBTC rules.
• Since May 2026, foreigners can have at most three SIMs per provider.
• Since May 2025, the name on your SIM must match the name on your Thai bank account for mobile banking to work.
• In January 2025 the regulator (NBTC) provisionally approved liveness-detection biometric checks for SIM registration at all operators (Thaiger, Jan 2025, fetched 2026-09-30).

Topping up: 7-Eleven is where most people top up their phone (Thaiger, 7-Eleven guide, fetched 2026-09-30).

Cost

• Travel eSIM: see Airalo’s plan price; no extra fees to register.
• Local SIM or eSIM: price depends on the plan and data you want — ask in store for current pricing. We don’t list local SIM prices here; for an idea of Thailand data pricing without a store visit, see Airalo’s plans below.

Time needed

• Travel eSIM: a few minutes online.
• Local number: about 15 minutes in store.

Common pitfalls

• Removing your home SIM and losing SMS codes from your home bank. Keep it in the phone and run Thai data on the eSIM.
• Registering the SIM under someone else’s name (a friend or landlord). It won’t match your bank account name, and mobile banking won’t work.
• Letting a prepaid Thai number go unused for a long stretch. Providers reclaim inactive numbers after a period, so top up periodically if you’re away.