Obtaining a non-tourist eSIM in Thailand
When I first arrived, I initially set up an eSIM on one of my phones so that I had data. These eSIMs are handy as you can get online quickly, but generally the expiry times are quite short, and you don't usually get a local Thai number.
If, like me you're planning to stay for as long as you can visa-free (3 months) then you would probably prefer paying less for your mobile data, as well as to have a local number that will stay the same for the duration of your stay.
Enter the AIS "Net Marathon" eSIM package. This gives you 50GB/month at 15Mbps, a local number, and a 90 day expiry. There are other packages available for up to a year, but if you're not staying that long then there is little point paying more than the 590baht that the 3 month package costs.
The process is a little complicated, mainly because the AIS website doesn't accept foreign credit or debit cards. The other options are LINE pay (which you can't set up unless you have a local ID) and PromptPay (QR code payments).
As a Tourist you can't open a bank account, which complicates using PromptPay, but there is an app called TagThai which you can pair with a Pay&Tour prepaid Visa card. To obtain the prepaid visa, you will need to visit a Kasikorn currency exchange, and top up the balance with a foreign currency. If you only have THB, you can convert at this at the exchange branch to USD or another currency, and then they will accept it for putting onto the prepaid Visa.
Once you have your prepaid visa, you can then import the card into the TagThai app, and use that to pay for your AIS eSIM. Its probably a good idea to keep a few thousand baht on the Visa card so you can add credit for calls etc.
You will need a Thai mobile number to register an AIS account, you can get this from a 1-day eSIM that has calling package. Yes its a lot of going around the houses, but something you only have to do once at the start of your 3 months.
Sorted, you now have the same Thai mobile number for the duration of your stay, and a much better deal on data than the tourist eSIM packages offer, as well as 5G access (seems that the eSIMs for tourists which are usually roaming from a Polish network are limited to 4G only)
Edit: In my case, the second time I tried the ID verification process, it got "stuck" (lots of warnings about not covering my face) so I had to visit the AIS Centralw0rld store in person to complete my verification, though that was fairly painless. I now have a low priced package (590 baht for 150GB, capped at 15Mbit, 50GB/month) and a sim that is valid until at least July 2026. It appears that I can easily add new bundles once the current runs out. If I need high-speed data, I have another sim, which I have linked to my AIS account, so I can just add X days of unlimited high speed 5G data to that sim and upload my hours of video. The main thing is that I now have a permanent number which I can use for when I'm in Thailand, or even so I am contactable by friends I make here when I'm away. Winning.
