Removing an iOS app from sale while still providing updates and support?

Question

I'm in a weird spot with my iOS app. Due to an oversight on my part when I first released it, I now have to re-release it with a new ID. This means that I should almost certainly remove the current app from sale. However, I also don't want to leave my existing customers behind. They paid for the app, and I want to keep providing them support.

1. Can I remove an app from sale while still releasing updates for it? I know I can uncheck all the regions under "Pricing and Availability", but this automatically changes the status to "Developer Removed from Sale", and that makes me think I won't be able to submit any new versions. But maybe I'm wrong?
2. If an app is removed from sale (as with the above), will my existing users still be able to get the last available version, or will they be stuck with the last version they happened to download? If they don't have the app on their devices, will they still be able to re-download it?
3. If it turns out that it's not possible to keep updating an app while it's removed from sale (as with the above), could I instead only select a single, mostly inactive region as a workaround? (E.g., only sell the app in the Virgin Islands or something and then keep updating as before.) Has anyone gotten reprimanded for doing this?

Thank you!

Answer 1

Reference: Removing An App From Sale

Highlights:

Removing an app from the store removes all versions of the app from sale. Users with previous versions of the app can’t update the app, but they will still be able to redownload the latest available version or restore your app to a new device, as long as you have an active contract.

If the status changes to Developer Removed From Sale, within 24 hours, your app won’t be seen on the store.

Note: If you remove a version from sale and then add a new version, the new version will remain Removed from Sale as well, even after it is approved by App Review. To release the new version, you need to clear the app for sale again.

Seems to me you don't want to remove it from the App Store, you just want people to stop downloading it. Can't do that. Removing it from sale removes the ability to update as well. But what's the downside to them downloading it if you're going to keep pushing out updates anyway? If you have a sign up of sorts you should be able to prevent new signups yourself even after they've downloaded it.

In regard to your 3rd question, if you set the region to say, The Virgin Islands, it will only be seen on the App Store there and nowhere else, meaning your current users outside of that region still won't be able to update.