.
.
There is no simple answer to your question. Each solicitor's firm is different, and there are no set standard fees for all solicitors to use.
1. Immigration Solicitors charge anything from £0 to as much as £500 or more per hour.
2. There are immigration solicitors supplied by the government to advise you free of charge at your request if you have a case with the Home Office, under the Legal Aid Scheme. If you do not qualify for free legal aid, it may still be possible to arrange for a solicitor to act for you as part of “pro bono” work. This is work which a solicitor carries out without charging a fee. This work is done by many solicitors as a service to the community to ensure access to justice for the less well off.
3. Then there are private immigration solicitors whose charges vary from as low as £20 or less per hour to as much as £500 or more per hour.
4. Then there are immigration solicitors who also charge a flat fee for a case as a whole. So for example if they charge you £2000 or so for your case, they would represent you for as long as the case takes with no extra charges.
5. Then there are immigration solicitors who also charge for a case up to a certain period, with an option for extra charges if your case drags on for longer than the agreed period. So for example, if they charge you £2000 or so for your case, they would represent you for the period you agreed. If you win your case before the period agreed ends, then you don't pay any extra fees. But if your case drags on for longer than agreed, then they will ask you to pay extra for any period beyond that agreed.
6. There are solicitors who even accept payments in instalments over an agreed period of time.
The best way to find out about any solicitor charges is to visit a couple of solicitors in person. Visit solicitors of varying status (from the corner shop solicitor to big national/international corporate firms) so as to get the best picture of how much the various solicitors charge.
We got help with a straightforward spouse visa. Cost a standing fee of roughly £2000 I think and a further £250 per hour on top - not cheap! But successful!