diff --git a/src/lib/Persistence/Legacy/Content/FieldValue/Converter/SelectionConverter.php b/src/lib/Persistence/Legacy/Content/FieldValue/Converter/SelectionConverter.php
index f2f14815f1..2341bfda28 100644
--- a/src/lib/Persistence/Legacy/Content/FieldValue/Converter/SelectionConverter.php
+++ b/src/lib/Persistence/Legacy/Content/FieldValue/Converter/SelectionConverter.php
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ public function toFieldDefinition(StorageFieldDefinition $storageDef, FieldDefin
         }
 
         foreach ($storageDef->multilingualData as $languageCode => $mlData) {
-            $xml = simplexml_load_string($mlData->dataText);
+            $xml = $mlData->dataText ? simplexml_load_string($mlData->dataText) : false;
             if ($xml !== false) {
                 foreach ($xml->options->option as $option) {
                     $multiLingualOptions[$languageCode][(int)$option['id']] = (string)$option['name'];
diff --git a/tests/lib/Persistence/Legacy/Content/FieldValue/Converter/SelectionTest.php b/tests/lib/Persistence/Legacy/Content/FieldValue/Converter/SelectionTest.php
index 24aab067b1..9d4a41482b 100644
--- a/tests/lib/Persistence/Legacy/Content/FieldValue/Converter/SelectionTest.php
+++ b/tests/lib/Persistence/Legacy/Content/FieldValue/Converter/SelectionTest.php
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 use Ibexa\Contracts\Core\Persistence\Content\Type\FieldDefinition as PersistenceFieldDefinition;
 use Ibexa\Core\FieldType\FieldSettings;
 use Ibexa\Core\Persistence\Legacy\Content\FieldValue\Converter\SelectionConverter;
+use Ibexa\Core\Persistence\Legacy\Content\MultilingualStorageFieldDefinition;
 use Ibexa\Core\Persistence\Legacy\Content\StorageFieldDefinition;
 use Ibexa\Core\Persistence\Legacy\Content\StorageFieldValue;
 use PHPUnit\Framework\TestCase;
@@ -325,6 +326,43 @@ public function testToFieldDefinitionSingleEmpty()
 
         $this->assertEquals($expectedFieldDefinition, $actualFieldDefinition);
     }
+
+    public function testToFieldDefinitionWithMultilingualDataSkipsEmptyDataText(): void
+    {
+        $storageFieldDefinition = new StorageFieldDefinition();
+        $storageFieldDefinition->dataInt1 = 1;
+        $storageFieldDefinition->dataText5 = <<<EOT
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
+<ezselection><options><option id="0" name="First"/></options></ezselection>
+EOT;
+
+        $mlDataEmpty = new MultilingualStorageFieldDefinition();
+        $mlDataEmpty->dataText = '';
+
+        $mlDataValid = new MultilingualStorageFieldDefinition();
+        $mlDataValid->dataText = <<<EOT
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
+<ezselection><options><option id="0" name="Premier"/></options></ezselection>
+EOT;
+
+        $storageFieldDefinition->multilingualData = [
+            'eng-GB' => $mlDataEmpty,
+            'fre-FR' => $mlDataValid,
+        ];
+
+        $actualFieldDefinition = new PersistenceFieldDefinition(
+            [
+                'mainLanguageCode' => 'eng-GB',
+            ]
+        );
+
+        $this->converter->toFieldDefinition($storageFieldDefinition, $actualFieldDefinition);
+
+        $fieldSettings = $actualFieldDefinition->fieldTypeConstraints->fieldSettings;
+
+        self::assertSame([0 => 'First'], $fieldSettings['multilingualOptions']['eng-GB']);
+        self::assertSame([0 => 'Premier'], $fieldSettings['multilingualOptions']['fre-FR']);
+    }
 }
 
 class_alias(SelectionTest::class, 'eZ\Publish\Core\Persistence\Legacy\Tests\Content\FieldValue\Converter\SelectionTest');