Solitudesometimesis

BritInParis

If you and your children have valid British passports and your husband is prepared to provide you with written permission to remove your children from the country in which you are currently living then you can board a flight home tomorrow. The practicality of being able to do that will depend on your support network in the UK. You’ll need somewhere to live so that means being able to afford to rent a property or you can stay with family and friends then it’s unlikely to be a practical option. If you are separating from your husband then you should consult a competent family solicitor regarding maintenance.

BristolUK

The Shelter site is quite handy. There's information offered if you can input a postcode...such as someone within your family.
It's important to read all conditions mentioned. For example, sometimes the first qualifying condition listed might be "need to lave lived in an area for x years" and that might put you off, but reading on you eventually see that if immediately homeless that may not apply.

They can advise you about benefits too.

If you can arrange to be with family/friends, even if a period here, a period there, initially, so much the better.

Have a search on line for lone parent support organisations for the area you'd like to go to. Or Women's aid.

scot47

Housing will be an issue. Note that in some areas it is easier to get housing from a housing association or other Social Landlord. For example in the area where I live there are empty houses waiting for tenants !
Income will also be an issue. How will you put daily bread on the table ?. In areas like mine, where housing is available and affordable, work is hard to find ! A reminder of why so many of us decided to "expatriate" ourselves all those years ago.

petitefrancaise

I am so sorry for the situation you are in, after living in France for so many years, I can say that yours is not an uncommon experience.
Seek advice from a local divorce lawyer - generally, it is better to divorce in the country in which your assets are. Doing anything across borders is an expensive nightmare and almost impossible to enforce. You are married and have children and your husband has a duty to support the children at the very least. If there are assets, then they should be split. Even though you may not yet be thinking about divorce, you must be prepared in case your husband decides to go ahead with it.
As BiP says, you must get written permission from your husband to take the children out of your current country.
Would you be able to get work locally where you are? What about if you return to the UK?
You are going to be a single working parent, be ultra pragmatic about this - look at salaries, benefits, cost of housing and of course support network - before making your decisions.
And remember, you are resourceful, intelligent, caring and incredibly brave - I know this because you have already moved country at least once. You can do this, just get a plan together.

penguinsix

I would definitely seek legal advice in your current country before leaving as this may have an impact on your child custody. I wouldn't leave until this is sorted to your satisfaction.