403 PERMISSION_DENIED "Your project has been denied access" on Free Tier — even on a brand-new project

Gemini API
1

Hello Gemini API team,

I’m requesting a manual review of a Free Tier restriction on my account.

What happens

  • API keys created in Google AI Studio (restricted to the Gemini API by default).
  • GET /v1beta/models works (HTTP 200), so the key is valid.
  • Every generateContent call returns: 403 PERMISSION_DENIED — "Your project has been denied access. Please contact support."
  • Same result on gemini-3.5-flash, gemini-3-flash-preview, gemini-3.1-flash-lite and gemini-flash-latest.
  • AI Studio shows Billing Tier: Unavailable for the project.

What I already did

  • Google account has 2-Step Verification and a verified phone number.
  • Verified my age / date of birth today.
  • Created a brand-new project and a new key after verification. It is still denied.

Details

  • Account type: Google Workspace (company domain), Kuwait
  • First project ID: gen-lang-client-0515552210 (“Gemini Project”)
  • Second project: “noryoza-video” (created after age verification)
  • No billing attached. I would like to stay on the Free Tier.

Use case
A small personal/company tool that summarises public YouTube trading-education videos (text only, low volume, well within free limits). No abuse, no automation of many accounts.

Could you please review the account/project flag and restore Free Tier access if possible?

Thank you!

2

Hello @ali_abdullah ,

completing standard security and identity verifications steps still does not restore access (or if using a model requiring a paid tier), you might want to consider adding prepayment credits directly in Google AI Studio and/ or attaching a Google Cloud Billing account in the Google Cloud Console. Please note this will mean you lose your free tier quota.