My phone has been stolen and I can’t set up a new Apple ID

Apple is going to need a certain amount of proof you are the true owner of the account. Apparently you cannot provide that proof to their satisfaction so you may have to set up a new account and say goodbye to the content in the old one.

If you are using your account for important things then you need to make sure you update your account information when anything changes. Account security works both ways and you are basically in a position now that a hacker would be if they were trying to convince Apple to let them have access to your account. if you are using an iCloud account as your Apple ID, don't. Use a third party address instead. Make sure you maintain access to that address so if Apple sends you emails helping you with your account you can read them.

Manage and use your Apple Account --> Manage and use your Apple Account - Apple Support

- "Update trusted phone numbers and devices that you're currently signed in to with your Apple ID." For more detailed instructions read this support article --> Two-factor authentication for Apple Account - Apple Support

You are welcome to contact Apple but I have been reading about situations like this for over a decade now so I have a good idea what they will say. Apple has likely set rigid security criteria for account recovery and unfortunately you are not meeting them. Even if she can prove she is Jane Doe with an identity card, does that mean she is the same Jane Doe who owns the account? Not necessarily, so Apple won't unlock it.

If you have complaints about the system, complain to Apple. The people on this forum are users like yourself so Apple won't "hear" you here. Send it using: Product Feedback - Apple Apple may not respond but your comment will be read.

It would show it was her, but it would not show she was the owner of the account. She can try, of course, but I suspect it wouldn't make any difference. I have never heard of Apple unlocking an account because somebody had an identity document.

That's why I am a bit of a luddite. I make sure I have backups of everything in multiple places. I do use features but I also make sure I have other ways of getting access to them too. I store all my files in multiple places and even try to reduce them to the barest essence of what I need. For example, anything I write in a word processing document I also keep in a plain text file. I have things I wrote 35 years ago with applications that bit the dust 20 years ago, but because I have the text I have 95% of the effort I need should I ever want to recreate them fully again.

I use my Apple account but the only thing of importance I have in it are photos. I keep duplicates of my Contacts on my computer as text files. I download my photos every time I have about a dozen or so, so if anything happened to my account about the only loss would be my 7 year old iPhone (which needs replacing anyway), and my access to the account I use to help others here. ;-)