diff --git a/docs/usage/configuration-options.md b/docs/usage/configuration-options.md
index 750e96b8d98c0b1a7bf96ae02f72943924c1e77b..d889328df0e85ee9b8e06cb0e88c7e57e0c50d51 100644
--- a/docs/usage/configuration-options.md
+++ b/docs/usage/configuration-options.md
@@ -705,6 +705,13 @@ If you enabled `automerge` in the Renovate config, you can speed up the automerg
 Caution (fixed in GitLab >= 12.7): when this option is enabled it is possible due to a bug in GitLab that MRs with failing pipelines might still get merged.
 This is caused by a race condition in GitLab's Merge Request API - [read the corresponding issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/issues/26293) for details.
 
+## gitLabIgnoreApprovals
+
+Ignore the default project level approval(s), so that Renovate bot can automerge its merge requests, without needing approval(s).
+Under the hood, it creates a MR-level approval rule where `approvals_required` is set to `0`.
+This option works only when `automerge=true`, `automergeType=pr` and `gitLabAutomerge=true`.
+Also, approval rules overriding should not be [prevented in GitLab settings](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/merge_requests/approvals/settings.html#prevent-overrides-of-default-approvals).
+
 ## golang
 
 Configuration added here applies for all Go-related updates, however currently the only supported package manager for Go is the native Go Modules (the `gomod` manager).
diff --git a/lib/config/definitions.ts b/lib/config/definitions.ts
index 26290fa07ebea77a0bdc85188b47bedf3cec170c..014877a1e161f756e1b7aba756f3e682ce23b464 100644
--- a/lib/config/definitions.ts
+++ b/lib/config/definitions.ts
@@ -1892,7 +1892,13 @@ const options: RenovateOptions[] = [
   },
   {
     name: 'gitLabAutomerge',
-    description: `Enable or disable usage of GitLab's "merge when pipeline succeeds" feature when automerging PRs.`,
+    description: `Enable or disable usage of GitLab's "merge when pipeline succeeds" feature when automerging MRs.`,
+    type: 'boolean',
+    default: false,
+  },
+  {
+    name: 'gitLabIgnoreApprovals',
+    description: `Ignore approval rules for MRs created by Renovate, which is useful for automerge.`,
     type: 'boolean',
     default: false,
   },
diff --git a/lib/platform/gitlab/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap b/lib/platform/gitlab/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap
index 64478dadb7a950ce92ca4ac77a30069d31198888..4a26be961c2328fe56c8ba817d630303ccdb0b27 100644
--- a/lib/platform/gitlab/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap
+++ b/lib/platform/gitlab/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap
@@ -141,6 +141,108 @@ Array [
 ]
 `;
 
+exports[`platform/gitlab/index createPr(branchName, title, body) adds approval rule to ignore all approvals 1`] = `
+Array [
+  Object {
+    "headers": Object {
+      "accept": "application/json",
+      "accept-encoding": "gzip, deflate, br",
+      "authorization": "Bearer some-token",
+      "host": "gitlab.com",
+      "user-agent": "RenovateBot/0.0.0-semantic-release (https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate)",
+    },
+    "method": "GET",
+    "url": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/user",
+  },
+  Object {
+    "headers": Object {
+      "accept": "application/json",
+      "accept-encoding": "gzip, deflate, br",
+      "authorization": "Bearer some-token",
+      "host": "gitlab.com",
+      "user-agent": "RenovateBot/0.0.0-semantic-release (https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate)",
+    },
+    "method": "GET",
+    "url": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/version",
+  },
+  Object {
+    "body": "{\\"source_branch\\":\\"some-branch\\",\\"target_branch\\":\\"master\\",\\"remove_source_branch\\":true,\\"title\\":\\"some-title\\",\\"description\\":\\"the-body\\",\\"labels\\":\\"\\"}",
+    "headers": Object {
+      "accept": "application/json",
+      "accept-encoding": "gzip, deflate, br",
+      "authorization": "Bearer abc123",
+      "content-length": "142",
+      "content-type": "application/json",
+      "host": "gitlab.com",
+      "user-agent": "RenovateBot/0.0.0-semantic-release (https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate)",
+    },
+    "method": "POST",
+    "url": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests",
+  },
+  Object {
+    "headers": Object {
+      "accept": "application/json",
+      "accept-encoding": "gzip, deflate, br",
+      "authorization": "Bearer abc123",
+      "host": "gitlab.com",
+      "user-agent": "RenovateBot/0.0.0-semantic-release (https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate)",
+    },
+    "method": "GET",
+    "url": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests/12345/approval_rules",
+  },
+  Object {
+    "body": "{\\"name\\":\\"renovateIgnoreApprovals\\",\\"approvals_required\\":0}",
+    "headers": Object {
+      "accept": "application/json",
+      "accept-encoding": "gzip, deflate, br",
+      "authorization": "Bearer abc123",
+      "content-length": "57",
+      "content-type": "application/json",
+      "host": "gitlab.com",
+      "user-agent": "RenovateBot/0.0.0-semantic-release (https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate)",
+    },
+    "method": "POST",
+    "url": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests/12345/approval_rules",
+  },
+  Object {
+    "headers": Object {
+      "accept": "application/json",
+      "accept-encoding": "gzip, deflate, br",
+      "authorization": "Bearer abc123",
+      "host": "gitlab.com",
+      "user-agent": "RenovateBot/0.0.0-semantic-release (https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate)",
+    },
+    "method": "GET",
+    "url": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests/12345",
+  },
+  Object {
+    "headers": Object {
+      "accept": "application/json",
+      "accept-encoding": "gzip, deflate, br",
+      "authorization": "Bearer abc123",
+      "host": "gitlab.com",
+      "user-agent": "RenovateBot/0.0.0-semantic-release (https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate)",
+    },
+    "method": "GET",
+    "url": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests/12345",
+  },
+  Object {
+    "body": "{\\"should_remove_source_branch\\":true,\\"merge_when_pipeline_succeeds\\":true}",
+    "headers": Object {
+      "accept": "application/json",
+      "accept-encoding": "gzip, deflate, br",
+      "authorization": "Bearer abc123",
+      "content-length": "72",
+      "content-type": "application/json",
+      "host": "gitlab.com",
+      "user-agent": "RenovateBot/0.0.0-semantic-release (https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate)",
+    },
+    "method": "PUT",
+    "url": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests/12345/merge",
+  },
+]
+`;
+
 exports[`platform/gitlab/index createPr(branchName, title, body) auto-accepts the MR when requested 1`] = `
 Array [
   Object {
@@ -218,6 +320,94 @@ Array [
 ]
 `;
 
+exports[`platform/gitlab/index createPr(branchName, title, body) does not try to create already existing approval rule 1`] = `
+Array [
+  Object {
+    "headers": Object {
+      "accept": "application/json",
+      "accept-encoding": "gzip, deflate, br",
+      "authorization": "Bearer some-token",
+      "host": "gitlab.com",
+      "user-agent": "RenovateBot/0.0.0-semantic-release (https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate)",
+    },
+    "method": "GET",
+    "url": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/user",
+  },
+  Object {
+    "headers": Object {
+      "accept": "application/json",
+      "accept-encoding": "gzip, deflate, br",
+      "authorization": "Bearer some-token",
+      "host": "gitlab.com",
+      "user-agent": "RenovateBot/0.0.0-semantic-release (https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate)",
+    },
+    "method": "GET",
+    "url": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/version",
+  },
+  Object {
+    "body": "{\\"source_branch\\":\\"some-branch\\",\\"target_branch\\":\\"master\\",\\"remove_source_branch\\":true,\\"title\\":\\"some-title\\",\\"description\\":\\"the-body\\",\\"labels\\":\\"\\"}",
+    "headers": Object {
+      "accept": "application/json",
+      "accept-encoding": "gzip, deflate, br",
+      "authorization": "Bearer abc123",
+      "content-length": "142",
+      "content-type": "application/json",
+      "host": "gitlab.com",
+      "user-agent": "RenovateBot/0.0.0-semantic-release (https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate)",
+    },
+    "method": "POST",
+    "url": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests",
+  },
+  Object {
+    "headers": Object {
+      "accept": "application/json",
+      "accept-encoding": "gzip, deflate, br",
+      "authorization": "Bearer abc123",
+      "host": "gitlab.com",
+      "user-agent": "RenovateBot/0.0.0-semantic-release (https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate)",
+    },
+    "method": "GET",
+    "url": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests/12345/approval_rules",
+  },
+  Object {
+    "headers": Object {
+      "accept": "application/json",
+      "accept-encoding": "gzip, deflate, br",
+      "authorization": "Bearer abc123",
+      "host": "gitlab.com",
+      "user-agent": "RenovateBot/0.0.0-semantic-release (https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate)",
+    },
+    "method": "GET",
+    "url": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests/12345",
+  },
+  Object {
+    "headers": Object {
+      "accept": "application/json",
+      "accept-encoding": "gzip, deflate, br",
+      "authorization": "Bearer abc123",
+      "host": "gitlab.com",
+      "user-agent": "RenovateBot/0.0.0-semantic-release (https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate)",
+    },
+    "method": "GET",
+    "url": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests/12345",
+  },
+  Object {
+    "body": "{\\"should_remove_source_branch\\":true,\\"merge_when_pipeline_succeeds\\":true}",
+    "headers": Object {
+      "accept": "application/json",
+      "accept-encoding": "gzip, deflate, br",
+      "authorization": "Bearer abc123",
+      "content-length": "72",
+      "content-type": "application/json",
+      "host": "gitlab.com",
+      "user-agent": "RenovateBot/0.0.0-semantic-release (https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate)",
+    },
+    "method": "PUT",
+    "url": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests/12345/merge",
+  },
+]
+`;
+
 exports[`platform/gitlab/index createPr(branchName, title, body) returns the PR 1`] = `
 Object {
   "displayNumber": "Merge Request #12345",
@@ -270,6 +460,108 @@ Array [
 ]
 `;
 
+exports[`platform/gitlab/index createPr(branchName, title, body) silently ignores approval rules adding errors 1`] = `
+Array [
+  Object {
+    "headers": Object {
+      "accept": "application/json",
+      "accept-encoding": "gzip, deflate, br",
+      "authorization": "Bearer some-token",
+      "host": "gitlab.com",
+      "user-agent": "RenovateBot/0.0.0-semantic-release (https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate)",
+    },
+    "method": "GET",
+    "url": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/user",
+  },
+  Object {
+    "headers": Object {
+      "accept": "application/json",
+      "accept-encoding": "gzip, deflate, br",
+      "authorization": "Bearer some-token",
+      "host": "gitlab.com",
+      "user-agent": "RenovateBot/0.0.0-semantic-release (https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate)",
+    },
+    "method": "GET",
+    "url": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/version",
+  },
+  Object {
+    "body": "{\\"source_branch\\":\\"some-branch\\",\\"target_branch\\":\\"master\\",\\"remove_source_branch\\":true,\\"title\\":\\"some-title\\",\\"description\\":\\"the-body\\",\\"labels\\":\\"\\"}",
+    "headers": Object {
+      "accept": "application/json",
+      "accept-encoding": "gzip, deflate, br",
+      "authorization": "Bearer abc123",
+      "content-length": "142",
+      "content-type": "application/json",
+      "host": "gitlab.com",
+      "user-agent": "RenovateBot/0.0.0-semantic-release (https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate)",
+    },
+    "method": "POST",
+    "url": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests",
+  },
+  Object {
+    "headers": Object {
+      "accept": "application/json",
+      "accept-encoding": "gzip, deflate, br",
+      "authorization": "Bearer abc123",
+      "host": "gitlab.com",
+      "user-agent": "RenovateBot/0.0.0-semantic-release (https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate)",
+    },
+    "method": "GET",
+    "url": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests/12345/approval_rules",
+  },
+  Object {
+    "body": "{\\"name\\":\\"renovateIgnoreApprovals\\",\\"approvals_required\\":0}",
+    "headers": Object {
+      "accept": "application/json",
+      "accept-encoding": "gzip, deflate, br",
+      "authorization": "Bearer abc123",
+      "content-length": "57",
+      "content-type": "application/json",
+      "host": "gitlab.com",
+      "user-agent": "RenovateBot/0.0.0-semantic-release (https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate)",
+    },
+    "method": "POST",
+    "url": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests/12345/approval_rules",
+  },
+  Object {
+    "headers": Object {
+      "accept": "application/json",
+      "accept-encoding": "gzip, deflate, br",
+      "authorization": "Bearer abc123",
+      "host": "gitlab.com",
+      "user-agent": "RenovateBot/0.0.0-semantic-release (https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate)",
+    },
+    "method": "GET",
+    "url": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests/12345",
+  },
+  Object {
+    "headers": Object {
+      "accept": "application/json",
+      "accept-encoding": "gzip, deflate, br",
+      "authorization": "Bearer abc123",
+      "host": "gitlab.com",
+      "user-agent": "RenovateBot/0.0.0-semantic-release (https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate)",
+    },
+    "method": "GET",
+    "url": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests/12345",
+  },
+  Object {
+    "body": "{\\"should_remove_source_branch\\":true,\\"merge_when_pipeline_succeeds\\":true}",
+    "headers": Object {
+      "accept": "application/json",
+      "accept-encoding": "gzip, deflate, br",
+      "authorization": "Bearer abc123",
+      "content-length": "72",
+      "content-type": "application/json",
+      "host": "gitlab.com",
+      "user-agent": "RenovateBot/0.0.0-semantic-release (https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate)",
+    },
+    "method": "PUT",
+    "url": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests/12345/merge",
+  },
+]
+`;
+
 exports[`platform/gitlab/index createPr(branchName, title, body) supports draftPR on < 13.2 1`] = `
 Object {
   "displayNumber": "Merge Request #12345",
diff --git a/lib/platform/gitlab/index.spec.ts b/lib/platform/gitlab/index.spec.ts
index d01c005d2c103db7033f546cf3f33670fba7fb7e..5ad17600ec672bb6bc9c508150c40b9f99e651d0 100644
--- a/lib/platform/gitlab/index.spec.ts
+++ b/lib/platform/gitlab/index.spec.ts
@@ -1379,6 +1379,135 @@ describe(getName(), () => {
       });
       expect(httpMock.getTrace()).toMatchSnapshot();
     });
+
+    it('adds approval rule to ignore all approvals', async () => {
+      await initPlatform('13.3.6-ee');
+      httpMock
+        .scope(gitlabApiHost)
+        .post('/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests')
+        .reply(200, {
+          id: 1,
+          iid: 12345,
+          title: 'some title',
+        })
+        .get('/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests/12345')
+        .reply(200)
+        .get('/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests/12345')
+        .reply(200, {
+          merge_status: 'can_be_merged',
+          pipeline: {
+            id: 29626725,
+            sha: '2be7ddb704c7b6b83732fdd5b9f09d5a397b5f8f',
+            ref: 'patch-28',
+            status: 'success',
+          },
+        })
+        .put('/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests/12345/merge')
+        .reply(200)
+        .get('/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests/12345/approval_rules')
+        .reply(200, [])
+        .post('/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests/12345/approval_rules')
+        .reply(200);
+      await gitlab.createPr({
+        sourceBranch: 'some-branch',
+        targetBranch: 'master',
+        prTitle: 'some-title',
+        prBody: 'the-body',
+        labels: [],
+        platformOptions: {
+          azureAutoComplete: false,
+          gitLabAutomerge: true,
+          gitLabIgnoreApprovals: true,
+        },
+      });
+      expect(httpMock.getTrace()).toMatchSnapshot();
+    });
+
+    it('does not try to create already existing approval rule', async () => {
+      await initPlatform('13.3.6-ee');
+      httpMock
+        .scope(gitlabApiHost)
+        .post('/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests')
+        .reply(200, {
+          id: 1,
+          iid: 12345,
+          title: 'some title',
+        })
+        .get('/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests/12345')
+        .reply(200)
+        .get('/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests/12345')
+        .reply(200, {
+          merge_status: 'can_be_merged',
+          pipeline: {
+            id: 29626725,
+            sha: '2be7ddb704c7b6b83732fdd5b9f09d5a397b5f8f',
+            ref: 'patch-28',
+            status: 'success',
+          },
+        })
+        .put('/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests/12345/merge')
+        .reply(200)
+        .get('/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests/12345/approval_rules')
+        .reply(200, [
+          { name: 'renovateIgnoreApprovals', approvals_required: 0 },
+        ]);
+      await gitlab.createPr({
+        sourceBranch: 'some-branch',
+        targetBranch: 'master',
+        prTitle: 'some-title',
+        prBody: 'the-body',
+        labels: [],
+        platformOptions: {
+          azureAutoComplete: false,
+          gitLabAutomerge: true,
+          gitLabIgnoreApprovals: true,
+        },
+      });
+      expect(httpMock.getTrace()).toMatchSnapshot();
+    });
+
+    it('silently ignores approval rules adding errors', async () => {
+      await initPlatform('13.3.6-ee');
+      httpMock
+        .scope(gitlabApiHost)
+        .post('/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests')
+        .reply(200, {
+          id: 1,
+          iid: 12345,
+          title: 'some title',
+        })
+        .get('/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests/12345')
+        .reply(200)
+        .get('/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests/12345')
+        .reply(200, {
+          merge_status: 'can_be_merged',
+          pipeline: {
+            id: 29626725,
+            sha: '2be7ddb704c7b6b83732fdd5b9f09d5a397b5f8f',
+            ref: 'patch-28',
+            status: 'success',
+          },
+        })
+        .put('/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests/12345/merge')
+        .reply(200)
+        .get('/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests/12345/approval_rules')
+        .reply(200, [])
+        .post('/api/v4/projects/undefined/merge_requests/12345/approval_rules')
+        .replyWithError('Unknown');
+      await gitlab.createPr({
+        sourceBranch: 'some-branch',
+        targetBranch: 'master',
+        prTitle: 'some-title',
+        prBody: 'the-body',
+        labels: [],
+        platformOptions: {
+          azureAutoComplete: false,
+          gitLabAutomerge: true,
+          gitLabIgnoreApprovals: true,
+        },
+      });
+      expect(httpMock.getTrace()).toMatchSnapshot();
+    });
   });
   describe('getPr(prNo)', () => {
     it('returns the PR', async () => {
diff --git a/lib/platform/gitlab/index.ts b/lib/platform/gitlab/index.ts
index 28eecfa1c19a9e0fb81561d4481a9e260788c780..390770348b46b4a3a39cf3e99b24dc9fe8ba3158 100644
--- a/lib/platform/gitlab/index.ts
+++ b/lib/platform/gitlab/index.ts
@@ -436,12 +436,35 @@ export async function getPrList(): Promise<Pr[]> {
   return config.prList;
 }
 
+async function ignoreApprovals(pr: number): Promise<void> {
+  try {
+    const url = `projects/${config.repository}/merge_requests/${pr}/approval_rules`;
+    const { body: rules } = await gitlabApi.getJson<{ name: string }[]>(url);
+    const ruleName = 'renovateIgnoreApprovals';
+    const zeroApproversRule = rules?.find(({ name }) => name === ruleName);
+    if (!zeroApproversRule) {
+      await gitlabApi.postJson(url, {
+        body: {
+          name: ruleName,
+          approvals_required: 0,
+        },
+      });
+    }
+  } catch (err) {
+    logger.warn({ err }, 'GitLab: Error adding approval rule');
+  }
+}
+
 async function tryPrAutomerge(
   pr: number,
   platformOptions: PlatformPrOptions
 ): Promise<void> {
   if (platformOptions?.gitLabAutomerge) {
     try {
+      if (platformOptions?.gitLabIgnoreApprovals) {
+        await ignoreApprovals(pr);
+      }
+
       const desiredStatus = 'can_be_merged';
       const retryTimes = 5;
 
diff --git a/lib/platform/types.ts b/lib/platform/types.ts
index 121245f42f8b7330a1a81f706885086c6fe407a7..3a9cc08babf5bc220603244f1ca5154fe7b80589 100644
--- a/lib/platform/types.ts
+++ b/lib/platform/types.ts
@@ -78,6 +78,7 @@ export type PlatformPrOptions = {
   azureWorkItemId?: number;
   bbUseDefaultReviewers?: boolean;
   gitLabAutomerge?: boolean;
+  gitLabIgnoreApprovals?: boolean;
 };
 export interface CreatePRConfig {
   sourceBranch: string;
diff --git a/lib/workers/pr/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap b/lib/workers/pr/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap
index 19997363f4e8a00168d4b1e8b4ffb9e54b620779..8c734aeabab1d6d9a6692be33d09f634d33f4f50 100644
--- a/lib/workers/pr/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap
+++ b/lib/workers/pr/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ Array [
       "azureWorkItemId": 0,
       "bbUseDefaultReviewers": true,
       "gitLabAutomerge": false,
+      "gitLabIgnoreApprovals": false,
     },
     "prBody": "This PR contains the following updates:\\n\\n| Package | Type | Update | Change |\\n|---|---|---|---|\\n| [dummy](https://dummy.com) ([source](https://github.com/renovateapp/dummy), [changelog](https://github.com/renovateapp/dummy/changelog.md)) | devDependencies | pin | \`1.0.0\` -> \`1.1.0\` |\\n\\n📌 **Important**: Renovate will wait until you have merged this Pin PR before creating any *upgrade* PRs for the affected packages. Add the preset \`:preserveSemverRanges\` to your config if you instead don't wish to pin dependencies.\\n\\n---\\n\\n### Release Notes\\n\\n<details>\\n<summary>renovateapp/dummy</summary>\\n\\n### [\`v1.1.0\`](https://github.com/renovateapp/dummy/compare/v1.0.0...v1.1.0)\\n\\n[Compare Source](https://github.com/renovateapp/dummy/compare/v1.0.0...v1.1.0)\\n\\n</details>\\n\\n---\\n\\n### Configuration\\n\\n📅 **Schedule**: \\"before 5am\\" in timezone some timezone.\\n\\n🚦 **Automerge**: Disabled by config. Please merge this manually once you are satisfied.\\n\\n♻ **Rebasing**: Whenever PR is behind base branch, or you tick the rebase/retry checkbox.\\n\\n🔕 **Ignore**: Close this PR and you won't be reminded about this update again.\\n\\n---\\n\\n - [ ] <!-- rebase-check -->If you want to rebase/retry this PR, check this box.\\n\\n---\\n\\nThis PR has been generated by [Renovate Bot](https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate).",
     "prTitle": "Update dependency dummy to v1.1.0",
@@ -96,6 +97,7 @@ Array [
       "azureWorkItemId": 0,
       "bbUseDefaultReviewers": true,
       "gitLabAutomerge": false,
+      "gitLabIgnoreApprovals": false,
     },
     "prBody": "This PR contains the following updates:\\n\\n| Package | Type | Update | Change |\\n|---|---|---|---|\\n| [dummy](https://dummy.com) ([source](https://github.com/renovateapp/dummy), [changelog](https://github.com/renovateapp/dummy/changelog.md)) | devDependencies | minor | \`1.0.0\` -> \`1.1.0\` |\\n\\n---\\n\\n### Release Notes\\n\\n<details>\\n<summary>renovateapp/dummy</summary>\\n\\n### [\`v1.1.0\`](https://github.com/renovateapp/dummy/compare/v1.0.0...v1.1.0)\\n\\n[Compare Source](https://github.com/renovateapp/dummy/compare/v1.0.0...v1.1.0)\\n\\n</details>\\n\\n---\\n\\n### Configuration\\n\\n📅 **Schedule**: \\"before 5am\\" (UTC).\\n\\n🚦 **Automerge**: Enabled.\\n\\n♻ **Rebasing**: Whenever PR becomes conflicted, or you tick the rebase/retry checkbox.\\n\\n🔕 **Ignore**: Close this PR and you won't be reminded about this update again.\\n\\n---\\n\\n - [ ] <!-- rebase-check -->If you want to rebase/retry this PR, check this box.\\n\\n---\\n\\nThis PR has been generated by [Renovate Bot](https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate).",
     "prTitle": "Update dependency dummy to v1.1.0",
@@ -116,6 +118,7 @@ Array [
       "azureWorkItemId": 0,
       "bbUseDefaultReviewers": true,
       "gitLabAutomerge": false,
+      "gitLabIgnoreApprovals": false,
     },
     "prBody": "This PR contains the following updates:\\n\\n| Package | Type | Update | Change |\\n|---|---|---|---|\\n| [gitlabdummy](https://dummy.com) ([source](https://gitlab.com/renovateapp/gitlabdummy), [changelog](https://gitlab.com/renovateapp/gitlabdummy/changelog.md)) | devDependencies | minor | \`1.0.0\` -> \`1.1.0\` |\\n\\n---\\n\\n### Configuration\\n\\n📅 **Schedule**: \\"before 5am\\" (UTC).\\n\\n🚦 **Automerge**: Enabled.\\n\\n♻ **Rebasing**: Whenever PR becomes conflicted, or you tick the rebase/retry checkbox.\\n\\n🔕 **Ignore**: Close this PR and you won't be reminded about this update again.\\n\\n---\\n\\n - [ ] <!-- rebase-check -->If you want to rebase/retry this PR, check this box.\\n\\n---\\n\\nThis PR has been generated by [Renovate Bot](https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate).",
     "prTitle": "Update dependency dummy to v1.1.0",
@@ -136,6 +139,7 @@ Array [
       "azureWorkItemId": 0,
       "bbUseDefaultReviewers": true,
       "gitLabAutomerge": false,
+      "gitLabIgnoreApprovals": false,
     },
     "prBody": "This PR contains the following updates:\\n\\n| Package | Type | Update | Change |\\n|---|---|---|---|\\n| [dummy](https://dummy.com) ([source](https://github.com/renovateapp/dummy), [changelog](https://github.com/renovateapp/dummy/changelog.md)) | devDependencies | lockFileMaintenance | \`1.0.0\` -> \`1.1.0\` |\\n| a |  |  | \`zzzzzz\` -> \`aaaaaaa\` |\\n| b |  | pin | \`some_old_value\` -> \`some_new_value\` |\\n| c |  |  | \`\` -> \`\` |\\n| d |  | lockFileMaintenance | \`\` -> \`\` |\\n\\nnote 1\\n\\nnote 2\\n\\n:warning: Release Notes retrieval for this PR were skipped because no github.com credentials were available.\\nIf you are using the hosted GitLab app, please follow [this guide](https://docs.renovatebot.com/install-gitlab-app/#configuring-a-token-for-githubcom-hosted-release-notes). If you are self-hosted, please see [this instruction](https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate/blob/master/docs/usage/self-hosting.md#githubcom-token-for-release-notes) instead.\\n\\n🔡 If you wish to disable git hash updates, add \`\\":disableDigestUpdates\\"\` to the extends array in your config.\\n\\n🔧 This Pull Request updates lock files to use the latest dependency versions.\\n\\n---\\n\\n### Release Notes\\n\\n<details>\\n<summary>renovateapp/dummy</summary>\\n\\n### [\`v1.1.0\`](https://github.com/renovateapp/dummy/compare/v1.0.0...v1.1.0)\\n\\n[Compare Source](https://github.com/renovateapp/dummy/compare/v1.0.0...v1.1.0)\\n\\n</details>\\n\\n<details>\\n<summary>renovateapp/dummy</summary>\\n\\n</details>\\n\\n---\\n\\n### Configuration\\n\\n📅 **Schedule**: At any time (no schedule defined).\\n\\n🚦 **Automerge**: Disabled by config. Please merge this manually once you are satisfied.\\n\\n♻ **Rebasing**: Never, or you tick the rebase/retry checkbox.\\n\\n👻 **Immortal**: This PR will be recreated if closed unmerged. Get [config help](https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate/discussions) if that's undesired.\\n\\n---\\n\\n - [ ] <!-- rebase-check -->If you want to rebase/retry this PR, check this box.\\n\\n---\\n\\nThis PR has been generated by [Renovate Bot](https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate).",
     "prTitle": "Update dependency dummy to v1.1.0",
@@ -156,6 +160,7 @@ Array [
       "azureWorkItemId": 0,
       "bbUseDefaultReviewers": true,
       "gitLabAutomerge": false,
+      "gitLabIgnoreApprovals": false,
     },
     "prBody": "This PR contains the following updates:\\n\\n| Package | Type | Update | Change |\\n|---|---|---|---|\\n| [dummy](https://dummy.com) ([source](https://github.com/renovateapp/dummy), [changelog](https://github.com/renovateapp/dummy/changelog.md)) | devDependencies | minor | \`1.0.0\` -> \`1.1.0\` |\\n\\n---\\n\\n### Release Notes\\n\\n<details>\\n<summary>someproject</summary>\\n\\n### [\`v1.1.0\`](https://github.com/renovateapp/dummy/compare/v1.0.0...v1.1.0)\\n\\n[Compare Source](https://github.com/renovateapp/dummy/compare/v1.0.0...v1.1.0)\\n\\n</details>\\n\\n---\\n\\n### Configuration\\n\\n📅 **Schedule**: At any time (no schedule defined).\\n\\n🚦 **Automerge**: Disabled by config. Please merge this manually once you are satisfied.\\n\\n♻ **Rebasing**: Whenever PR becomes conflicted, or you tick the rebase/retry checkbox.\\n\\n🔕 **Ignore**: Close this PR and you won't be reminded about this update again.\\n\\n---\\n\\n - [ ] <!-- rebase-check -->If you want to rebase/retry this PR, check this box.\\n\\n---\\n\\nThis PR has been generated by [Renovate Bot](https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate).",
     "prTitle": "Update dependency dummy to v1.1.0",
diff --git a/lib/workers/pr/index.spec.ts b/lib/workers/pr/index.spec.ts
index 4d0e5f62ea85a005015dad2d77dab0f29593db79..9e4772a7092b0911c196f599b64f034d9de387bd 100644
--- a/lib/workers/pr/index.spec.ts
+++ b/lib/workers/pr/index.spec.ts
@@ -628,11 +628,13 @@ describe(getName(), () => {
 
     it('should trigger GitLab automerge when configured', async () => {
       config.gitLabAutomerge = true;
+      config.gitLabIgnoreApprovals = true;
       config.automerge = true;
       await prWorker.ensurePr(config);
       const args = platform.createPr.mock.calls[0];
       expect(args[0].platformOptions).toMatchObject({
         gitLabAutomerge: true,
+        gitLabIgnoreApprovals: true,
       });
     });
 
diff --git a/lib/workers/pr/index.ts b/lib/workers/pr/index.ts
index b4bd2b75b9a236892336fb0fccc43d04696d7ee3..a05022d9d89563575d1b7bad4f9c946b7b9a5173 100644
--- a/lib/workers/pr/index.ts
+++ b/lib/workers/pr/index.ts
@@ -124,6 +124,7 @@ export function getPlatformPrOptions(
       config.automerge &&
       config.automergeType === 'pr' &&
       config.gitLabAutomerge,
+    gitLabIgnoreApprovals: config.gitLabIgnoreApprovals,
   };
 }