diff --git a/changelogs/unreleased/4826-github-import-wiki-fix-1.yml b/changelogs/unreleased/4826-github-import-wiki-fix-1.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..69145cb6daf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelogs/unreleased/4826-github-import-wiki-fix-1.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+title: "[GitHub Import] Create an empty wiki if wiki import failed"
+merge_request:
+author:
+type: fixed
diff --git a/lib/gitlab/github_import/importer/repository_importer.rb b/lib/gitlab/github_import/importer/repository_importer.rb
index 7dd68a0d1cd..ab0b751fe24 100644
--- a/lib/gitlab/github_import/importer/repository_importer.rb
+++ b/lib/gitlab/github_import/importer/repository_importer.rb
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ module Gitlab
           true
         rescue Gitlab::Shell::Error => e
           if e.message !~ /repository not exported/
+            project.create_wiki
             fail_import("Failed to import the wiki: #{e.message}")
           else
             true
diff --git a/spec/lib/gitlab/github_import/importer/repository_importer_spec.rb b/spec/lib/gitlab/github_import/importer/repository_importer_spec.rb
index 46a57e08963..5bedfc79dd3 100644
--- a/spec/lib/gitlab/github_import/importer/repository_importer_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/lib/gitlab/github_import/importer/repository_importer_spec.rb
@@ -11,7 +11,8 @@ describe Gitlab::GithubImport::Importer::RepositoryImporter do
       import_source: 'foo/bar',
       repository_storage_path: 'foo',
       disk_path: 'foo',
-      repository: repository
+      repository: repository,
+      create_wiki: true
     )
   end
 
@@ -192,7 +193,7 @@ describe Gitlab::GithubImport::Importer::RepositoryImporter do
       expect(importer.import_wiki_repository).to eq(true)
     end
 
-    it 'marks the import as failed if an error was raised' do
+    it 'marks the import as failed and creates an empty repo if an error was raised' do
       expect(importer.gitlab_shell)
         .to receive(:import_repository)
         .and_raise(Gitlab::Shell::Error)
@@ -201,6 +202,9 @@ describe Gitlab::GithubImport::Importer::RepositoryImporter do
         .to receive(:fail_import)
         .and_return(false)
 
+      expect(project)
+        .to receive(:create_wiki)
+
       expect(importer.import_wiki_repository).to eq(false)
     end
   end