diff --git a/app/models/user.rb b/app/models/user.rb
index 61c7799127b..59c7981181e 100644
--- a/app/models/user.rb
+++ b/app/models/user.rb
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ class User < ActiveRecord::Base
   validate :password_validator
   validates :name, user_full_name: true, if: :name_changed?, length: { maximum: 255 }
   validates :ip_address, allowed_ip_address: { on: :create, message: :signup_not_allowed }
-  validates :primary_email, presence: true, if: :should_validate_primary_email?
+  validates :primary_email, presence: true
   validates_associated :primary_email, if: :should_validate_primary_email?
 
   after_initialize :add_trust_level
diff --git a/spec/models/user_spec.rb b/spec/models/user_spec.rb
index 3d270e1c843..b26b326781b 100644
--- a/spec/models/user_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/models/user_spec.rb
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ describe User do
 
   context 'validations' do
     it { is_expected.to validate_presence_of :username }
+    it { is_expected.to validate_presence_of :primary_email }
 
     describe 'emails' do
       let(:user) { Fabricate.build(:user) }