Ongoing "Identitiy Verification" failure without a change to verify

Hi everyone,

I'm a managing director of a German GmbH trying to enroll in the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program. My verification has been permanently rejected at the Identity Verification step — but I was never asked to verify my identity.

The Problem

I never received any prompt to complete the AU10TIX identity check. No email, no Microsoft Authenticator notification, no link, no button — nothing. Despite this, the Partner Center shows Identity Verification as failed. The banner now states that my organization does not meet the requirements, no further appeals are available, and my application has been closed.

I was rejected for a step I was never given the opportunity to perform.

What I Observe

Every time I update my legal information in Partner Center, the status briefly switches to "Pending" for a few minutes, then immediately flips back to "Rejected." This looks like an automated pre-check is failing before the any visible Identity Verification process is even triggered — but the UI shows Identity Verification as the failed step regardless.

What I've Already Done

• Opened a support ticket — no response yet
• Verified that all company data is consistent across Partner Center, DUNS/D&B, domain WHOIS, and the German commercial register (Handelsregister)
• Confirmed that my Authenticator app is linked to the correct work account and checked spam folders — no invitation was ever sent

What I Need 

The Identity Verification step needs to be actually triggered so I can complete the identity check. I have not used any manual appeals as the system declined me before I ever reached the actual identity check. I have my German ID card ready and can complete the verification immediately.

I would appreciate any help from the community team or anyone who has experienced a similar situation. Happy to provide any additional details via DM or through my open support ticket.

Thank you!