Very odd if indeed he does have to go to Paris. Who's to say he isn't there already. Papers get faxed over and he's back to Brighton early evening.
Why odd ? He'll be in the UK now on a temporary visitor's visa (we know he was here yesterday) but once he's got clearance he'll need the actual work permit and visa. He has to physically enter the UK with the new (permanent) visa so has to get out to come back in. Imagine Paris presents the quickest option - either by Eurostar or from Gatwick (club may have even arranged something from Shoreham ?). We've had similar issues where I work with staff transferring between locations.