The government has decided to extend by a month the deadline for foreign nationals staying in India on business visas to re-apply for employment visas, days after the issue was discussed between PM Manmohan Singh and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at their recent meetings in Thailand. The fresh deadline is November 30, in place of October 31.

However, it was made clear to the Chinese side that there is no change in the visa policy and it is meant for all foreign countries — and not only China.

It is learnt that Wen had apprised Singh of the inconvenience faced by the Chinese workers on business visas — if they are asked to leave the country and re-apply for employment visas — when the two leaders met on the sidelines of the ASEAN and East Asia summits in Thailand. To this, Singh replied that their foreign ministers — when they meet in Bangalore — could discuss and find a solution.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jeichi put forward a request at the delegation-level talks with External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Tuesday, and the Indian side agreed to extend the deadline. Singh had already briefed Krishna about the issue, sources said.

The decision has also been conveyed to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who was in Bangalore for the trilateral India-Russia-China meeting. Lavrov too had taken up the issue with Krishna when he travelled to Moscow last week.

The government, sources said, has taken a considerate view since there are a large number of time-bound power projects being executed by Chinese nationals and Russian scientists and engineers are also involved in several projects in strategic sectors, including nuclear power.