diff --git a/.github/workflows/upgrade-tests.yml b/.github/workflows/upgrade-tests.yml
index 584e7843f93c..30c9d362e829 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/upgrade-tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/upgrade-tests.yml
@@ -2,10 +2,17 @@ name: Upgrade Tests
 
 on:
   pull_request:
+    paths:
+    - 'kong/db/migrations/**'
+    - 'spec/05-migration/**'
   push:
     paths-ignore:
     # ignore top-level markdown files (CHANGELOG.md, README.md, etc.)
     - '*.md'
+    branches:
+    - master
+    - release/*
+    - test-please/*
 
 jobs:
   upgrade-test: