French Immigration Control

[WeddingDressWanted]

I'm flying into Paris Orly in a few weeks. I don't speak French. I'm traveling with my son who is 3.5 years old. He is non verbal autistic. His surname is mine then his father's. We are not together and it is only my son and I traveling. Should I have a letter translated into French to explain any of this? Or are French Immigration Control quite relaxed? We're traveling from the UK on UK passports.

If you are on good terms with your ex, the best thing would be to get him to sign a letter to say he knows you are going away and gives permission for his child to travel. Something like, I NAME give permission for my son/daughter NAME, bor’ DOB, to travel to France from (dates of travel), accompanied by his/her mother YOUR NAME. Signed, dated, phone number + copy of his passport or other ID ideally. Take your child’s birth certificate too. Official info here: https://www.gov.uk/permission-take-child-abroad#:~:text=A%20letter%20from%20the%20person,about%20taking%20a%20child%20abroad.
You probably won’t be asked to show the letter. The birth certificate is always helpful to have with you. The fact your 3.5yr old won’t be able to say yes if a French immigration officer says ´is this your mum’ (in English but with a French accent) makes it slightly more likely you’ll be asked more questions. You’ll probably just get waved through but people do get stopped.
The law for French children says that you need the permission of one parent to take a French child abroad but that international laws on human trafficking mean that immigrants official can request proof the other parent has given permission. Quite similar advice to the UK government website but they provide a template for a permission letter.

The immigration officers will almost certainly know enough English for you to be able to tell them the basic info they want - We live in England, in Birmingham (or wherever), we are here on holiday. This is my son, I am his mother etc.
Lots of French children are also given both parents surnames so that won’t surprise them in the least.

Thanks that's really helpful. I'll put his passport and birth certificate together with confirmation of DLA (just for clarity). I'll ask his father for a letter but not sure he'll be happy to give one.

I would write the letter (leave it blank over your ex’s name) and ask him to read it and sign it so you can go on holiday. Make it super short and straightforward - think school trip permission slip. Then it’s far less work for him and he’s more likely to just shrug and do it.

You should carry permission from his father or a court order that says you can take your son overseas without permission. The airport here could request it to leave the country. This is rightly in place to stop child abduction. Do carry his disability paperwork as a back up but if border control ask then would your ex answer his phone to give permission?

If you have a court ordered cao it usually says that the resident patent can take the child abroad for up to two weeks without the non resident parent consent. Or at least ours did.

Canada seems to have very similar recommendations to the UK and France and helpfully provide a sample letter template that you could modify - take out any references to Canada obviously or you’ll confuse everyone.
https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/children/consent-letter#how

Massive long shot as I know this is an oldish post- did you take a letter from your ex stating he lets you take your son abroad? If so, did they ask to see the letter, and did you have it notorized? I go to Paris on Wednesday and just been told I may need a notorized letter from my daughter's dad