I understand that volunteering legally requires a work permit.

But doesn't a work permit for a foreigner require a number of Thai employees?

How does that match with a situation where a foreigner wishes to volunteer for a local volunteer organization? Does that organization have to employ a number of locals for each foreign volunteer (?!).

Or is there an exception made in the work permit rules for volunteering?

Usually any charity or organisation which takes on a volunteer has in place local staff anyway..

The non earning work issues creates great grey areas.. Eg if I walk my dog I am ok ?? But if I go to the shelter, and walk their dogs, thats a deportable offense..

In Thai labour law the definition of work does not include payment of salary, this would apply to Thai volunteers as well.

As posted, the organisation you want to help would almost certainly have some paid Thai Staff, but I guess that their their regular Thai volunteers would need to be on the books as well and that they would count as employees, even if they are unpaid.

There is a big difference when using the word 'volunteer' whether it refers to someone with a credentialed, skilled position with an established Thai NGO with a track record for obtaining work permits for such positions and and someone who just wants to 'help out' in his/her spare time at a small NGO that has never obtained a work permit for any such non-Thai person or even prior had any such non-Thai person on the premises work permit or not.

Thanks for inputs so far. Does anyone know if an established Thai NGO needs to have 4 (?) Thai persons enployeed for each foreign volunteer?