diff --git a/hw/xwayland/man/Xwayland.man b/hw/xwayland/man/Xwayland.man
index 62ace369a..f26b94035 100644
--- a/hw/xwayland/man/Xwayland.man
+++ b/hw/xwayland/man/Xwayland.man
@@ -124,6 +124,15 @@ support touch input.
 Force additional non-native modes to be exposed when viewporter is not
 supported by the Wayland compositor.
 .TP 8
+.B \-nokeymap
+Instructs \fIXwayland\fP to ignore the keymap set by the Wayland compositor.
+
+By default, \fIXwayland\fP (as any Wayland client) uses the keymap set by the
+Wayland compositor using the standard Wayland protocol.
+
+This option is meant for some specific use cases where it may be desirable to
+let the X11 clients control the keymap used in Xwayland, ignoring the keymap
+specified by the Wayland compositor.
 .B \-output \fIname\fP
 Specifies on which output \fIXwayland\fP fullscreen rootful should be placed.
 The name must match the name of an existing Wayland output (output names can
diff --git a/hw/xwayland/xwayland-input.c b/hw/xwayland/xwayland-input.c
index 52dc4f86f..078e7c2d3 100644
--- a/hw/xwayland/xwayland-input.c
+++ b/hw/xwayland/xwayland-input.c
@@ -1113,10 +1113,14 @@ keyboard_handle_keymap(void *data, struct wl_keyboard *keyboard,
                        uint32_t format, int fd, uint32_t size)
 {
     struct xwl_seat *xwl_seat = data;
+    struct xwl_screen *xwl_screen = xwl_seat->xwl_screen;
     DeviceIntPtr master;
     XkbDescPtr xkb;
     XkbChangesRec changes = { 0 };
 
+    if (xwl_screen->nokeymap)
+        return;
+
     if (xwl_seat->keymap)
         munmap(xwl_seat->keymap, xwl_seat->keymap_size);
 
diff --git a/hw/xwayland/xwayland-screen.c b/hw/xwayland/xwayland-screen.c
index 22afd4e94..03ee4e668 100644
--- a/hw/xwayland/xwayland-screen.c
+++ b/hw/xwayland/xwayland-screen.c
@@ -869,6 +869,9 @@ xwl_screen_init(ScreenPtr pScreen, int argc, char **argv)
             ErrorF("This build does not have XDG portal support\n");
 #endif
         }
+        else if (strcmp(argv[i], "-nokeymap") == 0) {
+            xwl_screen->nokeymap = 1;
+        }
     }
 
     if (!xwl_screen->rootless) {
diff --git a/hw/xwayland/xwayland-screen.h b/hw/xwayland/xwayland-screen.h
index 92688a7e0..a53d18bad 100644
--- a/hw/xwayland/xwayland-screen.h
+++ b/hw/xwayland/xwayland-screen.h
@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@ struct xwl_screen {
     int has_grab;
     int decorate;
     int enable_ei_portal;
+    int nokeymap;
 
     CreateScreenResourcesProcPtr CreateScreenResources;
     CloseScreenProcPtr CloseScreen;
diff --git a/hw/xwayland/xwayland.c b/hw/xwayland/xwayland.c
index 2aa9893a1..0879db69e 100644
--- a/hw/xwayland/xwayland.c
+++ b/hw/xwayland/xwayland.c
@@ -94,6 +94,7 @@ ddxUseMsg(void)
     ErrorF("-fullscreen            run fullscreen when rootful\n");
     ErrorF("-geometry WxH          set Xwayland window size when rootful\n");
     ErrorF("-host-grab             disable host keyboard shortcuts when rootful\n");
+    ErrorF("-nokeymap              ignore keymap from the Wayland compositor\n");
     ErrorF("-output                specify which output to use for fullscreen when rootful\n");
     ErrorF("-wm fd                 create X client for wm on given fd\n");
     ErrorF("-initfd fd             add given fd as a listen socket for initialization clients\n");
@@ -267,6 +268,9 @@ ddxProcessArgument(int argc, char *argv[], int i)
         CHECK_FOR_REQUIRED_ARGUMENTS(1);
         return 2;
     }
+    else if (strcmp(argv[i], "-nokeymap") == 0) {
+        return 1;
+    }
 
     return 0;
 }