I know the UK just got rid of their "pay-to-stay" visas (Tier 1 - Entrepreneur (£200k) and Tier 1 - Startup (£50k + endorsement), and now have endorsement-based

I know the UK just got rid of their "pay-to-stay" visas (Tier 1 - Entrepreneur (£200k) and Tier 1 - Startup (£50k + endorsement), and now have endorsement-based visas (Innovator and Startup). So I guess it is still pay-to-stay, but instead of paying the government, you are paying one of a few dozen private companies that the government chose based on some random criteria, and apparently there were many endorsing organizations that didn't even know they were selected.