diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 7b568a2..2c5718d 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/).
 - Prevent `delete-extraneous-posts` command from removing locally-linked posts.
 - Make webfinger response compatible with GNU Social account lookup.
 - Prefer `Group` actor when doing webfinger query on Lemmy server.
+- Fetch missing profiles before doing follower migration.
 
 ## [1.14.0] - 2023-02-22
 
diff --git a/src/activitypub/fetcher/helpers.rs b/src/activitypub/fetcher/helpers.rs
index 22c6966..338fa76 100644
--- a/src/activitypub/fetcher/helpers.rs
+++ b/src/activitypub/fetcher/helpers.rs
@@ -136,6 +136,7 @@ pub async fn import_profile_by_actor_address(
     Ok(profile)
 }
 
+// Works with local profiles
 pub async fn get_or_import_profile_by_actor_address(
     db_client: &impl DatabaseClient,
     instance: &Instance,
diff --git a/src/mastodon_api/settings/helpers.rs b/src/mastodon_api/settings/helpers.rs
index e0f68f1..1d5d11f 100644
--- a/src/mastodon_api/settings/helpers.rs
+++ b/src/mastodon_api/settings/helpers.rs
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@ use crate::errors::ValidationError;
 use crate::mastodon_api::accounts::helpers::follow_or_create_request;
 use crate::models::{
     posts::mentions::mention_to_address,
-    profiles::queries::get_profile_by_acct,
     profiles::types::DbActorProfile,
     relationships::queries::{
         follow,
@@ -128,14 +127,31 @@ pub async fn move_followers_task(
 ) -> Result<(), anyhow::Error> {
     let db_client = &mut **get_database_client(db_pool).await?;
     let instance = config.instance();
-    let mut followers = vec![];
+    let mut remote_followers = vec![];
     for follower_address in address_list {
-        let follower_acct = follower_address.acct(&instance.hostname());
-        // TODO: fetch unknown profiles
-        let follower = get_profile_by_acct(db_client, &follower_acct).await?;
+        let follower = match get_or_import_profile_by_actor_address(
+            db_client,
+            &instance,
+            &config.media_dir(),
+            &follower_address,
+        ).await {
+            Ok(profile) => profile,
+            Err(error @ (
+                HandlerError::FetchError(_) |
+                HandlerError::DatabaseError(DatabaseError::NotFound(_))
+            )) => {
+                log::warn!(
+                    "failed to import profile {}: {}",
+                    follower_address,
+                    error,
+                );
+                continue;
+            },
+            Err(other_error) => return Err(other_error.into()),
+        };
         if let Some(remote_actor) = follower.actor_json {
             // Add remote actor to activity recipients list
-            followers.push(remote_actor);
+            remote_followers.push(remote_actor);
         } else {
             // Immediately move local followers (only if alias can be verified)
             if let Some(ref from_profile) = maybe_from_profile {
@@ -170,7 +186,7 @@ pub async fn move_followers_task(
         &instance,
         &current_user,
         from_actor_id,
-        followers,
+        remote_followers,
         None,
     ).enqueue(db_client).await?;
     Ok(())