<!--IssueSummary start--> <details> <summary> Everyone can contribute. [Help move this issue forward](https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/marketing/developer-relations/contributor-success/community-contributors-workflows/#contributor-links) while earning points, leveling up and collecting rewards. </summary> - [Close this issue](https://contributors.gitlab.com/manage-issue?action=close&projectId=278964&issueIid=353094) </details> <!--IssueSummary end--> The `approvals_before_merge` field has been made redundant within: - Issue: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/11132. - Merge request: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/merge_requests/16121 Within this issue we should: - Make sure that `approvals_before_merge` replacement works properly and is not used in the database! - Ignore the column, which is the first step of [the 3-release approach of column removal](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/development/avoiding_downtime_in_migrations.html#dropping-columns)