diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_command.c b/src/qemu/qemu_command.c
index 952a10efc8..c32d8c61d3 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_command.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_command.c
@@ -7202,6 +7202,19 @@ qemuBuildCpuArgStr(virQEMUDriverPtr driver,
         have_cpu = true;
     }
 
+    if (def->features[VIR_DOMAIN_FEATURE_GIC] == VIR_TRISTATE_SWITCH_ON) {
+        if (def->gic_version && def->gic_version != 2) {
+            virReportError(VIR_ERR_CONFIG_UNSUPPORTED,
+                           _("gic version '%u' is not supported"),
+                           def->gic_version);
+            goto cleanup;
+        }
+
+        /* There's no command line argument currently to turn on/off GIC. It's
+         * done automatically by qemu-system-aarch64. But if this changes, lets
+         * put the code here. */
+    }
+
     if (virBufferCheckError(&buf) < 0)
         goto cleanup;
 
diff --git a/tests/qemuxml2argvdata/qemuxml2argv-aarch64-gic.args b/tests/qemuxml2argvdata/qemuxml2argv-aarch64-gic.args
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e61cd1e468
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/qemuxml2argvdata/qemuxml2argv-aarch64-gic.args
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+LC_ALL=C PATH=/bin HOME=/home/test USER=test LOGNAME=test QEMU_AUDIO_DRV=none \
+/usr/bin/qemu-system-aarch64 -S -M virt -no-kvm -cpu cortex-a53 -m 1024 -smp 1 \
+-nographic -nodefaults -monitor unix:/tmp/test-monitor,server,nowait -boot c \
+-kernel /aarch64.kernel -initrd /aarch64.initrd -append console=ttyAMA0 -usb \
+-net nic,macaddr=52:54:00:09:a4:37,vlan=0,model=virtio,name=net0 \
+-net user,vlan=0,name=hostnet0
diff --git a/tests/qemuxml2argvdata/qemuxml2argv-aarch64-gic.xml b/tests/qemuxml2argvdata/qemuxml2argv-aarch64-gic.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..08d3d714b8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/qemuxml2argvdata/qemuxml2argv-aarch64-gic.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+<domain type="qemu">
+  <name>aarch64test</name>
+  <uuid>6ba410c5-1e5c-4d57-bee7-2228e7ffa32f</uuid>
+  <memory>1048576</memory>
+  <currentMemory>1048576</currentMemory>
+  <vcpu>1</vcpu>
+  <features>
+    <acpi/>
+    <gic version='2'/>
+  </features>
+  <cpu match='exact'>
+    <model>cortex-a53</model>
+  </cpu>
+  <os>
+    <type arch="aarch64" machine="virt">hvm</type>
+    <kernel>/aarch64.kernel</kernel>
+    <initrd>/aarch64.initrd</initrd>
+    <cmdline>console=ttyAMA0</cmdline>
+  </os>
+  <devices>
+    <emulator>/usr/bin/qemu-system-aarch64</emulator>
+    <interface type='user'>
+      <mac address='52:54:00:09:a4:37'/>
+    </interface>
+  </devices>
+</domain>
diff --git a/tests/qemuxml2argvtest.c b/tests/qemuxml2argvtest.c
index 4678261bce..97c7fba637 100644
--- a/tests/qemuxml2argvtest.c
+++ b/tests/qemuxml2argvtest.c
@@ -1541,6 +1541,8 @@ mymain(void)
     DO_TEST("aarch64-cpu-model-host", QEMU_CAPS_DEVICE, QEMU_CAPS_DRIVE,
             QEMU_CAPS_NODEFCONFIG, QEMU_CAPS_DEVICE_VIRTIO_MMIO,
             QEMU_CAPS_CPU_HOST, QEMU_CAPS_KVM);
+    DO_TEST("aarch64-gic", QEMU_CAPS_DEVICE, QEMU_CAPS_DRIVE,
+            QEMU_CAPS_KVM);
 
     DO_TEST("kvm-pit-device", QEMU_CAPS_KVM_PIT_TICK_POLICY);
     DO_TEST("kvm-pit-delay", QEMU_CAPS_NO_KVM_PIT);