diff --git a/controllers/ssa_client.go b/controllers/ssa_client.go
index c23a396..b56c8f1 100644
--- a/controllers/ssa_client.go
+++ b/controllers/ssa_client.go
@@ -23,8 +23,8 @@ const (
 // fields from the Update operation to the Apply operation. This is required
 // to ensure that the apply operations will also remove fields that were
 // set by the Update operation.
-func upgradeManagedFields(ctx context.Context, c client.Client, obj client.Object) error {
-	patch, err := csaupgrade.UpgradeManagedFieldsPatch(obj, sets.New(string(fieldOwner)), string(fieldOwner))
+func upgradeManagedFields(ctx context.Context, c client.Client, obj client.Object, opts ...csaupgrade.Option) error {
+	patch, err := csaupgrade.UpgradeManagedFieldsPatch(obj, sets.New(string(fieldOwner)), string(fieldOwner), opts...)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/controllers/subnamespace_controller.go b/controllers/subnamespace_controller.go
index e17ba0d..46d1658 100644
--- a/controllers/subnamespace_controller.go
+++ b/controllers/subnamespace_controller.go
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import (
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/types"
 	metav1ac "k8s.io/client-go/applyconfigurations/meta/v1"
+	"k8s.io/client-go/util/csaupgrade"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/util/workqueue"
 	kstatus "sigs.k8s.io/cli-utils/pkg/kstatus/status"
 	ctrl "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime"
@@ -137,7 +138,11 @@ func (r *SubNamespaceReconciler) reconcileNS(ctx context.Context, sn *accuratev2
 		)
 	}
 
-	// TODO: upgrade managed fields to SSA when https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/123484 is released
+	// Ensure that status managed fields are upgraded to SSA before the following SSA.
+	// TODO(migration): This code could be removed after a couple of releases.
+	if err := upgradeManagedFields(ctx, r.Client, sn, csaupgrade.Subresource("status")); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
 
 	sn, p, err := newSubNamespacePatch(ac)
 	if err != nil {