diff --git a/templates/validation.yml b/templates/validation.yml
index eec58a50b71a726127350c79d9c7ce8048705d4d..22e9124ff05a38ae9ccdafbce696ea3c070cf85a 100644
--- a/templates/validation.yml
+++ b/templates/validation.yml
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ gitlab-ci-lint:
     - ci_lint
   rules:
     # enabled if $GITLAB_TOKEN and GITLAB_CI_FILES are set
-    - if: '$GITLAB_TOKEN && $GITLAB_CI_FILES'
+    - if: '($GITLAB_TOKEN != null && $GITLAB_TOKEN != "") && $GITLAB_CI_FILES'
 
 check-links:
   image: