diff --git a/packages/jest-resolve/src/defaultResolver.ts b/packages/jest-resolve/src/defaultResolver.ts
index ee53502ece4b..c289c4b2fd9d 100644
--- a/packages/jest-resolve/src/defaultResolver.ts
+++ b/packages/jest-resolve/src/defaultResolver.ts
@@ -120,12 +120,13 @@ export default function defaultResolver(
 
   const pathToResolve = getPathInModule(path, resolveOptions);
 
-  const result = isAbsolute(pathToResolve)
-    ? pathToResolve
-    : resolveSync(pathToResolve, {
-        ...resolveOptions,
-        packageFilter: createPackageFilter(pathToResolve, options),
-      });
+  const result =
+    pathToResolve === path
+      ? resolveSync(pathToResolve, {
+          ...resolveOptions,
+          packageFilter: createPackageFilter(pathToResolve, options),
+        })
+      : pathToResolve;
 
   // Dereference symlinks to ensure we don't create a separate
   // module instance depending on how it was referenced.