diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend-module-gitlab/src/providers/GitlabDiscoveryEntityProvider.ts b/plugins/catalog-backend-module-gitlab/src/providers/GitlabDiscoveryEntityProvider.ts
index 24bc5faccb..869374de07 100644
--- a/plugins/catalog-backend-module-gitlab/src/providers/GitlabDiscoveryEntityProvider.ts
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend-module-gitlab/src/providers/GitlabDiscoveryEntityProvider.ts
@@ -589,12 +589,22 @@ export class GitlabDiscoveryEntityProvider implements EntityProvider {
       project.default_branch ??
       this.config.fallbackBranch;
 
-    const hasFile = await client.hasFile(
-      project.id.toString() ?? project.path_with_namespace ?? '',
+    // Find file with namespaced path (most use-cases)
+    let hasFile = await client.hasFile(
+      project.path_with_namespace ?? '',
       project_branch,
       this.config.catalogFile,
     );
 
+    // Find file with project id if namespace failed
+    if (!hasFile) {
+      hasFile = await client.hasFile(
+        project.id.toString(),
+        project_branch,
+        this.config.catalogFile,
+      );
+    }
+
     return hasFile;
   }
 }