Gemini API returns 403 PERMISSION_DENIED even with a new paid project and new API key

Gemini API
1

I would like to ask for support regarding Google AI Studio / Gemini API.

I am consistently receiving 403 PERMISSION_DENIED when trying to use the Gemini image generation API.

[Situation]

  • I created a brand new paid project in Google AI Studio
  • I completed billing / prepay setup and added credits
  • I created a brand new API key under the new paid project
  • I updated the Cloudflare Worker with the new API key and deployed it
  • The Cloudflare Worker alive check succeeds
  • However, the actual upstream Gemini API call still fails with HTTP 403

[Error]
HTTP 403
PERMISSION_DENIED
“Your project has been denied access. Please contact support.”

[What I have already confirmed]

  • The issue reproduces even with a brand new paid project
  • The issue reproduces even with a brand new API key
  • The request successfully reaches the Cloudflare Worker
  • The Worker itself is reachable and alive
  • Earlier I was getting 429 quota exceeded, but after enabling prepay the error changed to 403 PERMISSION_DENIED
  • The API key is sent via x-goog-api-key
  • The request body uses the contents.parts format

[Recent requestId]
175f3dae-7473-4084-930e-c63d14fa562a

[Question]
Could this be related to:

  • an account-level restriction
  • an eligibility verification issue
  • automated review / risk control
  • or another backend access denial?

If Google can check the state of this project or account, please let me know what to verify and what steps I should take to resolve or investigate this issue.

I can provide additional screenshots and logs if needed.
Thank you.

2

Was it resolved? Or are you still facing this issue?

3

Sorry to hear about this. We’re treating this as a potential bug in Gemini API. Could you please enter the details of projects receiving unexpected 403 errors into this form?