Hello,
I have been trying to enroll in the Apple Developer Program as an individual for almost a month, but I am unable to complete identity verification because my citizenship and country of residence are different.
I am a Russian citizen, so my passport is Russian. However, I have legally lived in Azerbaijan for several years, Azerbaijan is my actual country of residence, and my Apple Account region is also Azerbaijan.
In the Apple Developer app, the only identity document option available to me is “Passport Book.” There is no option to submit my Azerbaijani residence permit. When I submitted my valid Russian international passport, verification failed because the document was not accepted for my Apple Account region.
This creates a situation where:
- my Apple Account region correctly reflects where I live;
- my passport correctly reflects my citizenship;
- I have a valid Azerbaijani residence permit;
- but the automated verification process does not allow me to submit the residence permit.
I have already contacted Apple Developer Support and provided both my valid Russian international passport and valid Azerbaijan residence permit through Apple's secure upload system.
My original support case is 102967615402. I was eventually told that my information had been forwarded to an “appropriate internal Team” for further review. More than a week passed after that message without any further update, and the case then disappeared from the “Current Issue” section of the Developer Support website. Because I could no longer determine whether the case was still active, I opened a second support case: 102995117656.
I am not requesting an exception to Apple's rules. I simply need to understand:
How is a foreign citizen who legally resides in Azerbaijan supposed to complete Apple Developer identity verification when their passport was issued by their country of citizenship?
Has anyone experienced a similar situation where citizenship and Apple Account country/region are different? I would also appreciate it if Apple Developer Support could confirm whether my original escalated case is still being reviewed.
Thank you.
