diff --git a/lib/workers/repository/process/index.js b/lib/workers/repository/process/index.js
index 5e8f38a8a9f98e5a0383d37e8a921182afdc5a30..e7a2ba4600856d24212e4d30be6fd272d65d0f59 100644
--- a/lib/workers/repository/process/index.js
+++ b/lib/workers/repository/process/index.js
@@ -10,8 +10,13 @@ async function processRepo(config) {
   logger.debug('processRepo()');
   /* eslint-disable no-param-reassign */
   config.masterIssueChecks = {};
-  // istanbul ignore if
-  if (config.masterIssue || config.masterIssueApproval) {
+  // istanbul ignore next
+  if (
+    config.masterIssue ||
+    config.masterIssueApproval ||
+    (config.packageRules &&
+      config.packageRules.some(rule => rule.masterIssueApproval))
+  ) {
     config.masterIssueTitle =
       config.masterIssueTitle || `Update Dependencies (${appName} Bot)`;
     const issue = await platform.findIssue(config.masterIssueTitle);