diff --git a/internal/util/ssa/patch_test.go b/internal/util/ssa/patch_test.go
index 0139bce49d35..5fca3c2b52d1 100644
--- a/internal/util/ssa/patch_test.go
+++ b/internal/util/ssa/patch_test.go
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	. "github.com/onsi/gomega"
+	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1/unstructured"
 	"k8s.io/utils/ptr"
@@ -111,6 +112,9 @@ func TestPatch(t *testing.T) {
 				Bootstrap: clusterv1.Bootstrap{
 					DataSecretName: ptr.To("data-secret"),
 				},
+				InfrastructureRef: corev1.ObjectReference{
+					Namespace: ns.Name,
+				},
 			},
 		}
 		fieldManager := "test-manager"