Tier 2 Extension Employer requirements

Hi, I am in tier-2 general 3 years visa which is expiring next December. Can anybody help me clarify the following:
1. My employer had only one certificate of sponsorship when they gave me sponsorship, now to extend the visa from same company does the company need a new sponsorship under their account?
2. I got my visa on January 2012 for 3 years under tier-2 now to how for how long i can extend.
3. Also what kind of papers i need to submit/requirements?

Many thanks in advanced for your help and time.

Hi,

1. My employer had only one certificate of sponsorship when they gave me sponsorship, now to extend the visa from same company does the company need a new sponsorship under their account?

- Not sure about this, but when extending your VISA the COS number will be different.

2. I got my visa on January 2012 for 3 years under tier-2 now to how for how long i can extend.

- It depends on the job duration which your employer specifies in the COS, generally it will be two years as you got 3 years initially

3. Also what kind of papers i need to submit/requirements?

- Your employers takes care of the all the documents such as payslips, employement letter etc, you just need to send your passport and VISA copies

your employer needs to login in to their SMS, and request for an additional un-restricted cos. This request can take between 2 days to 2 weeks.
then they need to assign you a cos for extending employment. using that cos, u will need to apply to extend. If the job is permanent, they can put a max of 3 years for you and you will get extension of 3 years.