There are things that are a bit nasty and difficult to arrange if you want to live in Thailand, especially getting a work permit, in contrast to anything that has to do with practical things like finding an apartment which is a lot more straight forward.
Getting a SIM card for you mobile phone or tablet is similar easy, I don’t know a country that has easier and more straightforward processes like Thailand.
The three major telecommunication companies in Thailand are True Move, dtac and AIS. Their prices and services are almost identical and it doesn’t really matter which one you choose, they are all great value for western standards and you have connection anywhere in Thailand, not just in major cities but also on the islands, the plains and villages. I’m with dtac and totally happy, I never had any problems with them and everything works fine.
Tourist SIM Card in Thailand
The easiest way to get a SIM card with mobile internet in Thailand is to buy a Tourist SIM Card at any international airport in the country. There are many small booths from the service providers and it’s very easy to find them. You just need to give them your passport so they can register the SIM card for you.
Just choose one of the following services, and within 5 minutes it’s all said and done:
Regular SIM Card in Thailand
In order to get a regular SIM Card (either prepaid or postpaid) you need to provide a work permit or a Thai Driving License.
All these three companies have service centers all over Thailand, especially in shopping malls where you can buy a SIM card for about 100 Baht plus top up how much you like.
Phone calls are around 9 Baht per minute. There are 30-day packages available like 100, 300 or 1,000 minutes for 30 days. I can’t tell you the exact prices for that as I don’t take this kind of package because most Thais like to write messages for free and if I do a short phone call just a few times a month I don’t really need a phone call package.
You can also buy a SIM card as well as top up cards at any 7-Eleven or FamilyMart store in Thailand and most supemarkets as well. Note that in these places staff generally doesn’t speak good English so if you don’t speak Thai you might just go to one of the service centers of one of the companies where they can give you all the information about the offers and prices – usually in English too.
30-day 5G flatrate packages are available depending on the speed you want. Example: I get the 1 Mbps package for 400 Baht (plus VAT) at dtac, valid for 30 days. That’s fast enough to use Facebook, web browsing and all the messenger apps. If you stream a lot of videos on your phone (like YouTube or Netflix), you may consider getting a different package with faster speed, like 4 Mbps for 650 Baht (plus VAT).
If Thailand is good at one thing, it’s services, and so you’ll find it pretty easy to get exactly the type of internet package you need!
