diff --git a/t/t5800-remote-helpers.sh b/t/t5800-remote-helpers.sh
index 75a0163c07..22c7df47fb 100755
--- a/t/t5800-remote-helpers.sh
+++ b/t/t5800-remote-helpers.sh
@@ -7,9 +7,15 @@ test_description='Test remote-helper import and export commands'
 
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
-if ! test_have_prereq PYTHON
+if test_have_prereq PYTHON && "$PYTHON_PATH" -c '
+import sys
+if sys.hexversion < 0x02050000:
+    sys.exit(1)
+'
 then
-	say 'skipping git remote-testgit tests: requires Python support'
+	:
+else
+	say 'skipping git remote-testgit tests: requires Python 2.5 or newer'
 	test_done
 fi