diff --git a/lib/gitlab/current_settings.rb b/lib/gitlab/current_settings.rb
index c4fc3709c93127f4e6a398e1c748d16ad880b4bc..c79e17b57ee7c497f9dfd221b4ceb6fc86bebf5a 100644
--- a/lib/gitlab/current_settings.rb
+++ b/lib/gitlab/current_settings.rb
@@ -9,7 +9,9 @@ module Gitlab
     end
 
     def ensure_application_settings!
-      if connect_to_db?
+      return fake_application_settings unless connect_to_db?
+
+      unless ENV['IN_MEMORY_APPLICATION_SETTINGS'] == 'true'
         begin
           settings = ::ApplicationSetting.current
         # In case Redis isn't running or the Redis UNIX socket file is not available
@@ -20,15 +22,23 @@ module Gitlab
         settings ||= ::ApplicationSetting.create_from_defaults unless ActiveRecord::Migrator.needs_migration?
       end
 
-      settings || fake_application_settings
+      settings || in_memory_application_settings
     end
 
     def sidekiq_throttling_enabled?
       current_application_settings.sidekiq_throttling_enabled?
     end
 
+    def in_memory_application_settings
+      @in_memory_application_settings ||= ApplicationSetting.new(ApplicationSetting::DEFAULTS)
+    # In case migrations the application_settings table is not created yet,
+    # we fallback to a simple OpenStruct
+    rescue ActiveRecord::StatementInvalid
+      fake_application_settings
+    end
+
     def fake_application_settings
-      ApplicationSetting.new(ApplicationSetting::DEFAULTS)
+      OpenStruct.new(ApplicationSetting::DEFAULTS)
     end
 
     private
diff --git a/lib/gitlab/github_import/project_creator.rb b/lib/gitlab/github_import/project_creator.rb
index 3f635be22ba0bf7739cb5615cec2a486f290243a..a55adc9b1c8accaee12a602322a0be9eb08bc551 100644
--- a/lib/gitlab/github_import/project_creator.rb
+++ b/lib/gitlab/github_import/project_creator.rb
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 module Gitlab
   module GithubImport
     class ProjectCreator
+      include Gitlab::CurrentSettings
+
       attr_reader :repo, :name, :namespace, :current_user, :session_data, :type
 
       def initialize(repo, name, namespace, current_user, session_data, type: 'github')
@@ -34,7 +36,7 @@ module Gitlab
       end
 
       def visibility_level
-        repo.private ? Gitlab::VisibilityLevel::PRIVATE : ApplicationSetting.current.default_project_visibility
+        repo.private ? Gitlab::VisibilityLevel::PRIVATE : current_application_settings.default_project_visibility
       end
 
       #
diff --git a/spec/controllers/health_check_controller_spec.rb b/spec/controllers/health_check_controller_spec.rb
index 56ecf2bb644c4164a718a03afcabd2c158fdb912..cfe18dd4b6c86c859bee9628aff0eb4cc5fab8b1 100644
--- a/spec/controllers/health_check_controller_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/controllers/health_check_controller_spec.rb
@@ -1,10 +1,16 @@
 require 'spec_helper'
 
 describe HealthCheckController do
+  include StubENV
+
   let(:token) { current_application_settings.health_check_access_token }
   let(:json_response) { JSON.parse(response.body) }
   let(:xml_response) { Hash.from_xml(response.body)['hash'] }
 
+  before do
+    stub_env('IN_MEMORY_APPLICATION_SETTINGS', 'false')
+  end
+
   describe 'GET #index' do
     context 'when services are up but NO access token' do
       it 'returns a not found page' do
diff --git a/spec/features/admin/admin_disables_git_access_protocol_spec.rb b/spec/features/admin/admin_disables_git_access_protocol_spec.rb
index 66044b444952de468dd1448ae61bbd47d8fcca89..e8e080ce3e26ba52fc3c18fd170249e4320d89ae 100644
--- a/spec/features/admin/admin_disables_git_access_protocol_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/features/admin/admin_disables_git_access_protocol_spec.rb
@@ -1,10 +1,13 @@
 require 'rails_helper'
 
 feature 'Admin disables Git access protocol', feature: true do
+  include StubENV
+
   let(:project) { create(:empty_project, :empty_repo) }
   let(:admin) { create(:admin) }
 
   background do
+    stub_env('IN_MEMORY_APPLICATION_SETTINGS', 'false')
     login_as(admin)
   end
 
diff --git a/spec/features/admin/admin_health_check_spec.rb b/spec/features/admin/admin_health_check_spec.rb
index dec2dedf2b519ab913576c359dbe0fb21d5b3dd8..f7e49a56deb8f77efc7424eb9bb88085fa6db0ea 100644
--- a/spec/features/admin/admin_health_check_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/features/admin/admin_health_check_spec.rb
@@ -1,9 +1,11 @@
 require 'spec_helper'
 
 feature "Admin Health Check", feature: true do
+  include StubENV
   include WaitForAjax
 
   before do
+    stub_env('IN_MEMORY_APPLICATION_SETTINGS', 'false')
     login_as :admin
   end
 
@@ -12,11 +14,12 @@ feature "Admin Health Check", feature: true do
       visit admin_health_check_path
     end
 
-    it { page.has_text? 'Health Check' }
-    it { page.has_text? 'Health information can be retrieved' }
-
     it 'has a health check access token' do
+      page.has_text? 'Health Check'
+      page.has_text? 'Health information can be retrieved'
+
       token = current_application_settings.health_check_access_token
+
       expect(page).to have_content("Access token is #{token}")
       expect(page).to have_selector('#health-check-token', text: token)
     end
diff --git a/spec/features/admin/admin_runners_spec.rb b/spec/features/admin/admin_runners_spec.rb
index d92c66b689d363eddec190a9078930ca8ab39c4a..f05fbe3d0625d47eedc7873f54dd3cecda00e2c2 100644
--- a/spec/features/admin/admin_runners_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/features/admin/admin_runners_spec.rb
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
 require 'spec_helper'
 
 describe "Admin Runners" do
+  include StubENV
+
   before do
+    stub_env('IN_MEMORY_APPLICATION_SETTINGS', 'false')
     login_as :admin
   end
 
diff --git a/spec/features/admin/admin_settings_spec.rb b/spec/features/admin/admin_settings_spec.rb
index 47fa2f14307d1f35068f6a41bd67cda1ffdcb39b..de42ab81face88065cb77639461bfd66e8847987 100644
--- a/spec/features/admin/admin_settings_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/features/admin/admin_settings_spec.rb
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
 require 'spec_helper'
 
 feature 'Admin updates settings', feature: true do
-  before(:each) do
+  include StubENV
+
+  before do
+    stub_env('IN_MEMORY_APPLICATION_SETTINGS', 'false')
     login_as :admin
     visit admin_application_settings_path
   end
diff --git a/spec/features/admin/admin_uses_repository_checks_spec.rb b/spec/features/admin/admin_uses_repository_checks_spec.rb
index 661fb7618091a73cf89bdd9d6e497e75f27cdeb1..855247de2ea73addc7948ae74dd3d4fa9f9322f9 100644
--- a/spec/features/admin/admin_uses_repository_checks_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/features/admin/admin_uses_repository_checks_spec.rb
@@ -1,7 +1,12 @@
 require 'rails_helper'
 
 feature 'Admin uses repository checks', feature: true do
-  before { login_as :admin }
+  include StubENV
+
+  before do
+    stub_env('IN_MEMORY_APPLICATION_SETTINGS', 'false')
+    login_as :admin
+  end
 
   scenario 'to trigger a single check' do
     project = create(:empty_project)
@@ -29,7 +34,7 @@ feature 'Admin uses repository checks', feature: true do
 
   scenario 'to clear all repository checks', js: true do
     visit admin_application_settings_path
-    
+
     expect(RepositoryCheck::ClearWorker).to receive(:perform_async)
 
     click_link 'Clear all repository checks'
diff --git a/spec/lib/gitlab/current_settings_spec.rb b/spec/lib/gitlab/current_settings_spec.rb
index 004341ffd0214cc05eb1a39cf7c5bac04e4e5ac1..b01c4805a3449a624875fafad045490b645a044f 100644
--- a/spec/lib/gitlab/current_settings_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/lib/gitlab/current_settings_spec.rb
@@ -1,36 +1,64 @@
 require 'spec_helper'
 
 describe Gitlab::CurrentSettings do
+  include StubENV
+
+  before do
+    stub_env('IN_MEMORY_APPLICATION_SETTINGS', 'false')
+  end
+
   describe '#current_application_settings' do
-    it 'attempts to use cached values first' do
-      allow_any_instance_of(Gitlab::CurrentSettings).to receive(:connect_to_db?).and_return(true)
-      expect(ApplicationSetting).to receive(:current).and_return(::ApplicationSetting.create_from_defaults)
-      expect(ApplicationSetting).not_to receive(:last)
+    context 'with DB available' do
+      before do
+        allow_any_instance_of(Gitlab::CurrentSettings).to receive(:connect_to_db?).and_return(true)
+      end
 
-      expect(current_application_settings).to be_a(ApplicationSetting)
-    end
+      it 'attempts to use cached values first' do
+        expect(ApplicationSetting).to receive(:current)
+        expect(ApplicationSetting).not_to receive(:last)
+
+        expect(current_application_settings).to be_a(ApplicationSetting)
+      end
 
-    it 'does not attempt to connect to DB or Redis' do
-      allow_any_instance_of(Gitlab::CurrentSettings).to receive(:connect_to_db?).and_return(false)
-      expect(ApplicationSetting).not_to receive(:current)
-      expect(ApplicationSetting).not_to receive(:last)
+      it 'falls back to DB if Redis returns an empty value' do
+        expect(ApplicationSetting).to receive(:last).and_call_original
 
-      expect(current_application_settings).to eq fake_application_settings
+        expect(current_application_settings).to be_a(ApplicationSetting)
+      end
+
+      it 'falls back to DB if Redis fails' do
+        expect(ApplicationSetting).to receive(:current).and_raise(::Redis::BaseError)
+        expect(ApplicationSetting).to receive(:last).and_call_original
+
+        expect(current_application_settings).to be_a(ApplicationSetting)
+      end
     end
 
-    it 'falls back to DB if Redis returns an empty value' do
-      allow_any_instance_of(Gitlab::CurrentSettings).to receive(:connect_to_db?).and_return(true)
-      expect(ApplicationSetting).to receive(:last).and_call_original
+    context 'with DB unavailable' do
+      before do
+        allow_any_instance_of(Gitlab::CurrentSettings).to receive(:connect_to_db?).and_return(false)
+      end
 
-      expect(current_application_settings).to be_a(ApplicationSetting)
+      it 'returns an in-memory ApplicationSetting object' do
+        expect(ApplicationSetting).not_to receive(:current)
+        expect(ApplicationSetting).not_to receive(:last)
+
+        expect(current_application_settings).to be_a(OpenStruct)
+      end
     end
 
-    it 'falls back to DB if Redis fails' do
-      allow_any_instance_of(Gitlab::CurrentSettings).to receive(:connect_to_db?).and_return(true)
-      expect(ApplicationSetting).to receive(:current).and_raise(::Redis::BaseError)
-      expect(ApplicationSetting).to receive(:last).and_call_original
+    context 'when ENV["IN_MEMORY_APPLICATION_SETTINGS"] is true' do
+      before do
+        stub_env('IN_MEMORY_APPLICATION_SETTINGS', 'true')
+      end
+
+      it 'returns an in-memory ApplicationSetting object' do
+        expect(ApplicationSetting).not_to receive(:current)
+        expect(ApplicationSetting).not_to receive(:last)
 
-      expect(current_application_settings).to be_a(ApplicationSetting)
+        expect(current_application_settings).to be_a(ApplicationSetting)
+        expect(current_application_settings).not_to be_persisted
+      end
     end
   end
 end
diff --git a/spec/requests/api/internal_spec.rb b/spec/requests/api/internal_spec.rb
index 35644bd8cc92f12661b2d798f5924db450a2d44e..c0a01d3799040907e167f9c871d2539dafb688b2 100644
--- a/spec/requests/api/internal_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/requests/api/internal_spec.rb
@@ -337,8 +337,7 @@ describe API::Internal, api: true  do
 
     context 'ssh access has been disabled' do
       before do
-        settings = ::ApplicationSetting.create_from_defaults
-        settings.update_attribute(:enabled_git_access_protocol, 'http')
+        stub_application_setting(enabled_git_access_protocol: 'http')
       end
 
       it 'rejects the SSH push' do
@@ -360,8 +359,7 @@ describe API::Internal, api: true  do
 
     context 'http access has been disabled' do
       before do
-        settings = ::ApplicationSetting.create_from_defaults
-        settings.update_attribute(:enabled_git_access_protocol, 'ssh')
+        stub_application_setting(enabled_git_access_protocol: 'ssh')
       end
 
       it 'rejects the HTTP push' do
@@ -383,8 +381,7 @@ describe API::Internal, api: true  do
 
     context 'web actions are always allowed' do
       it 'allows WEB push' do
-        settings = ::ApplicationSetting.create_from_defaults
-        settings.update_attribute(:enabled_git_access_protocol, 'ssh')
+        stub_application_setting(enabled_git_access_protocol: 'ssh')
         project.team << [user, :developer]
         push(key, project, 'web')
 
diff --git a/spec/spec_helper.rb b/spec/spec_helper.rb
index 6ee3307512ddff66db439c892e81069a6401cbaf..f78899134d5cb30ccc258414239ec6ffcc3c0885 100644
--- a/spec/spec_helper.rb
+++ b/spec/spec_helper.rb
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ require './spec/simplecov_env'
 SimpleCovEnv.start!
 
 ENV["RAILS_ENV"] ||= 'test'
+ENV["IN_MEMORY_APPLICATION_SETTINGS"] = 'true'
 
 require File.expand_path("../../config/environment", __FILE__)
 require 'rspec/rails'