OBJECTIVE: The burden of sight impairment on governments’ welfare care budgets is large, and generally greater than the associated health care costs. The objective of this study was to summarise and quantify the range of welfare and social care benefits available to individuals with sight impairment in nine countries. METHODS: Local language literature searches, interviews with representatives of benefit agencies, patient organisations, and clinical experts using a standard set of questions adapted to local circumstances. ‘Typical’ cases were defined according to age, family support and level of impairment. RESULTS: Clinical criteria (e.g. visual acuity), functional state or both may determine eligibility for benefits. Basic monthly disability benefits reported ranged from $159 (UK) to $479 (Germany). Countries with lower values (UK, Sweden) provide a wider range of services free at the point of use or higher benefits related to income or inability to work. Higher levels of benefits in other countries are intended to cover direct purchase of services. Benefits covering inability to work range from $135 (Spain) to $793 (Sweden), and for caring responsibilities from $226 (UK) to $773 (France) per month. In most countries the range of services/benefits for ‘typical’ cases could be assessed. CONCLUSION: Multinational studies assessing the economic impact of sight impairment face problems due to the fragmentation of payments and services across organisations within each country, different financing structures and systems of payment/service organisations in different countries, and a lack of centrally held information about numbers of claims in relation to the underlying condition. It is necessary to tailor prospective studies to the welfare systems in each country in order to capture such costs and to ensure relevance of economic arguments to the local environment. Decision-makers should be encouraged to use a wider economic perspective when considering interventions preventing or delaying the progress of visual impairment.