diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 36a8de27bd81..3304980b27f3 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 /examples/*/node_modules/
 /examples/mongodb/globalConfig.json
 
+/e2e/preserve-symlinks/*
 /e2e/*/node_modules
 /e2e/*/.pnp
 /e2e/*/.pnp.js
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 38b9b4387f3f..ff39d4b2c1e5 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 
 ### Features
 
+- `[*]` Respect NODE_PRESERVE_SYMLINKS environment variable and --preserve-symlinks flag when resolving file paths ([#9732](https://github.com/facebook/jest/pull/9732))
+
 ### Fixes
 
 - `[jest-jasmine2]` Don't run `beforeAll` / `afterAll` in skipped describe block ([#9931](https://github.com/facebook/jest/pull/9931))
diff --git a/e2e/__tests__/__snapshots__/moduleNameMapper.test.ts.snap b/e2e/__tests__/__snapshots__/moduleNameMapper.test.ts.snap
index ed248a26f289..d65fa16fcb5d 100644
--- a/e2e/__tests__/__snapshots__/moduleNameMapper.test.ts.snap
+++ b/e2e/__tests__/__snapshots__/moduleNameMapper.test.ts.snap
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ FAIL __tests__/index.js
       12 | module.exports = () => 'test';
       13 | 
 
-      at createNoMappedModuleFoundError (../../packages/jest-resolve/build/index.js:545:17)
+      at createNoMappedModuleFoundError (../../packages/jest-resolve/build/index.js:561:17)
       at Object.require (index.js:10:1)
 `;
 
@@ -65,6 +65,6 @@ FAIL __tests__/index.js
       12 | module.exports = () => 'test';
       13 | 
 
-      at createNoMappedModuleFoundError (../../packages/jest-resolve/build/index.js:545:17)
+      at createNoMappedModuleFoundError (../../packages/jest-resolve/build/index.js:561:17)
       at Object.require (index.js:10:1)
 `;
diff --git a/e2e/__tests__/__snapshots__/resolveNoFileExtensions.test.ts.snap b/e2e/__tests__/__snapshots__/resolveNoFileExtensions.test.ts.snap
index 062640b2406a..2eb8081795f7 100644
--- a/e2e/__tests__/__snapshots__/resolveNoFileExtensions.test.ts.snap
+++ b/e2e/__tests__/__snapshots__/resolveNoFileExtensions.test.ts.snap
@@ -37,6 +37,6 @@ FAIL __tests__/test.js
         |                  ^
       9 | 
 
-      at Resolver.resolveModule (../../packages/jest-resolve/build/index.js:299:11)
+      at Resolver.resolveModule (../../packages/jest-resolve/build/index.js:315:11)
       at Object.require (index.js:8:18)
 `;
diff --git a/e2e/__tests__/preserveSymlinks.ts b/e2e/__tests__/preserveSymlinks.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..2d293aff754f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/e2e/__tests__/preserveSymlinks.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,131 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (c) Facebook, Inc. and its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
+ *
+ * This source code is licensed under the MIT license found in the
+ * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
+ */
+
+import {join, resolve} from 'path';
+import {
+  existsSync,
+  mkdirSync,
+  rmdirSync,
+  symlinkSync,
+  unlinkSync,
+} from 'graceful-fs';
+
+import runJest from '../runJest';
+import {extractSummary} from '../Utils';
+import HasteMap = require('jest-haste-map');
+
+const destRoot = resolve(__dirname, '../preserve-symlinks');
+const srcRoot = resolve(__dirname, '../symlinked-source-dir');
+
+const files = [
+  'package.json',
+  'a.js',
+  'b.js',
+  'ab.js',
+  '__tests__/a.test.js',
+  '__tests__/b.test.js',
+  '__tests__/ab.test.js',
+];
+
+function cleanup() {
+  files
+    .map(f => join(destRoot, f))
+    .filter(f => existsSync(f))
+    .forEach(f => {
+      unlinkSync(f);
+    });
+  if (existsSync(join(destRoot, '__tests__'))) {
+    rmdirSync(join(destRoot, '__tests__'));
+  }
+  if (existsSync(destRoot)) {
+    rmdirSync(destRoot);
+  }
+}
+
+beforeAll(() => {
+  cleanup();
+  mkdirSync(destRoot);
+  mkdirSync(join(destRoot, '__tests__'));
+  files.forEach(f => {
+    symlinkSync(join(srcRoot, f), join(destRoot, f));
+  });
+});
+
+afterAll(() => {
+  cleanup();
+});
+
+test('preserving symlinks with environment variable', () => {
+  const {stderr, exitCode} = runJest('preserve-symlinks', ['--no-watchman'], {
+    preserveSymlinks: '1',
+  });
+  const {summary, rest} = extractSummary(stderr);
+  expect(exitCode).toEqual(0);
+  expect(rest.split('\n').length).toEqual(3);
+  expect(rest).toMatch('PASS __tests__/ab.test.js');
+  expect(rest).toMatch('PASS __tests__/a.test.js');
+  expect(rest).toMatch('PASS __tests__/b.test.js');
+  expect(summary).toMatch('Test Suites: 3 passed, 3 total');
+  expect(summary).toMatch('Tests:       3 passed, 3 total');
+  expect(summary).toMatch('Snapshots:   0 total');
+});
+
+test('preserving symlinks with --preserve-symlinks node flag', () => {
+  const {stderr, exitCode} = runJest('preserve-symlinks', ['--no-watchman'], {
+    nodeFlags: ['--preserve-symlinks'],
+  });
+  const {summary, rest} = extractSummary(stderr);
+  expect(exitCode).toEqual(0);
+  expect(rest.split('\n').length).toEqual(3);
+  expect(rest).toMatch('PASS __tests__/ab.test.js');
+  expect(rest).toMatch('PASS __tests__/a.test.js');
+  expect(rest).toMatch('PASS __tests__/b.test.js');
+  expect(summary).toMatch('Test Suites: 3 passed, 3 total');
+  expect(summary).toMatch('Tests:       3 passed, 3 total');
+  expect(summary).toMatch('Snapshots:   0 total');
+});
+
+test('hasteMap finds symlinks correctly', async () => {
+  const options = {
+    extensions: ['js'],
+    forceNodeFilesystemAPI: true,
+    maxWorkers: 2,
+    mocksPattern: '',
+    name: 'tmp',
+    platforms: [],
+    preserveSymlinks: true,
+    retainAllFiles: true,
+    rootDir: resolve(__dirname, '../preserve-symlinks'),
+    roots: [resolve(__dirname, '../preserve-symlinks')],
+    useWatchman: false,
+    watch: false,
+  };
+  const hasteMap = new HasteMap(options);
+  const result = await hasteMap.build();
+  const files = result.hasteFS
+    .getAllFiles()
+    .map(f => f.split('preserve-symlinks').pop());
+
+  const expectedFiles = [
+    join('/__tests__', 'a.test.js'),
+    join('/__tests__', 'ab.test.js'),
+    join('/__tests__', 'b.test.js'),
+    join('/', 'a.js'),
+    join('/', 'ab.js'),
+    join('/', 'b.js'),
+  ];
+
+  expectedFiles.forEach(f => {
+    expect(files).toContain(f);
+  });
+});
+
+test('no preserve symlinks configuration', () => {
+  const {exitCode, stdout} = runJest('preserve-symlinks', ['--no-watchman']);
+  expect(exitCode).toEqual(1);
+  expect(stdout).toMatch('No tests found, exiting with code 1');
+});
diff --git a/e2e/runJest.ts b/e2e/runJest.ts
index 28eda5785672..6811febbf237 100644
--- a/e2e/runJest.ts
+++ b/e2e/runJest.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@ import {normalizeIcons} from './Utils';
 const JEST_PATH = path.resolve(__dirname, '../packages/jest-cli/bin/jest.js');
 
 type RunJestOptions = {
+  preserveSymlinks?: string;
+  nodeFlags?: Array<string>;
   nodeOptions?: string;
   nodePath?: string;
   skipPkgJsonCheck?: boolean; // don't complain if can't find package.json
@@ -74,11 +76,15 @@ function spawnJest(
     );
   }
   const env = Object.assign({}, process.env, {FORCE_COLOR: '0'});
-
   if (options.nodeOptions) env['NODE_OPTIONS'] = options.nodeOptions;
   if (options.nodePath) env['NODE_PATH'] = options.nodePath;
+  if (options.preserveSymlinks)
+    env['NODE_PRESERVE_SYMLINKS'] = options.preserveSymlinks;
 
   const spawnArgs = [JEST_PATH, ...args];
+  if (options.nodeFlags) {
+    spawnArgs.unshift(...options.nodeFlags);
+  }
   const spawnOptions = {
     cwd: dir,
     env,
diff --git a/e2e/symlinked-source-dir/__tests__/a.test.js b/e2e/symlinked-source-dir/__tests__/a.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..7ae15d959838
--- /dev/null
+++ b/e2e/symlinked-source-dir/__tests__/a.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (c) Facebook, Inc. and its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
+ *
+ * This source code is licensed under the MIT license found in the
+ * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
+ *
+ */
+const a = require('../a');
+
+test('a', () => {
+  expect(a()).toEqual('a');
+});
diff --git a/e2e/symlinked-source-dir/__tests__/ab.test.js b/e2e/symlinked-source-dir/__tests__/ab.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..b312f6d57c34
--- /dev/null
+++ b/e2e/symlinked-source-dir/__tests__/ab.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (c) Facebook, Inc. and its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
+ *
+ * This source code is licensed under the MIT license found in the
+ * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
+ *
+ */
+const ab = require('../ab');
+
+test('ab', () => {
+  expect(ab()).toEqual('ab');
+});
diff --git a/e2e/symlinked-source-dir/__tests__/b.test.js b/e2e/symlinked-source-dir/__tests__/b.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..4c95a97391eb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/e2e/symlinked-source-dir/__tests__/b.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (c) Facebook, Inc. and its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
+ *
+ * This source code is licensed under the MIT license found in the
+ * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
+ *
+ */
+const b = require('../b');
+
+test('b', () => {
+  expect(b()).toEqual('b');
+});
diff --git a/e2e/symlinked-source-dir/a.js b/e2e/symlinked-source-dir/a.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..c3e6f1d5f6cb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/e2e/symlinked-source-dir/a.js
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (c) Facebook, Inc. and its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
+ *
+ * This source code is licensed under the MIT license found in the
+ * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
+ *
+ */
+module.exports = function a() {
+  return 'a';
+};
diff --git a/e2e/symlinked-source-dir/ab.js b/e2e/symlinked-source-dir/ab.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..30b92befb9c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/e2e/symlinked-source-dir/ab.js
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (c) Facebook, Inc. and its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
+ *
+ * This source code is licensed under the MIT license found in the
+ * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
+ *
+ */
+const a = require('./a');
+const b = require('./b');
+
+module.exports = function ab() {
+  return a() + b();
+};
diff --git a/e2e/symlinked-source-dir/b.js b/e2e/symlinked-source-dir/b.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..503a0820a921
--- /dev/null
+++ b/e2e/symlinked-source-dir/b.js
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (c) Facebook, Inc. and its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
+ *
+ * This source code is licensed under the MIT license found in the
+ * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
+ *
+ */
+module.exports = function b() {
+  return 'b';
+};
diff --git a/e2e/symlinked-source-dir/package.json b/e2e/symlinked-source-dir/package.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..148788b25446
--- /dev/null
+++ b/e2e/symlinked-source-dir/package.json
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+{
+  "jest": {
+    "testEnvironment": "node"
+  }
+}
diff --git a/packages/jest-cli/package.json b/packages/jest-cli/package.json
index 81a534547e9a..0944373c4731 100644
--- a/packages/jest-cli/package.json
+++ b/packages/jest-cli/package.json
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
     "jest-validate": "^25.5.0",
     "prompts": "^2.0.1",
     "realpath-native": "^2.0.0",
+    "should-preserve-links": "^1.0.4",
     "yargs": "^15.3.1"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
diff --git a/packages/jest-cli/should-preserve-links.d.ts b/packages/jest-cli/should-preserve-links.d.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..7fa8fb90fd2b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/jest-cli/should-preserve-links.d.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (c) Facebook, Inc. and its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
+ *
+ * This source code is licensed under the MIT license found in the
+ * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
+ */
+
+declare module 'should-preserve-links' {
+  export default function shouldPreserveLinks(): boolean;
+}
diff --git a/packages/jest-cli/src/cli/index.ts b/packages/jest-cli/src/cli/index.ts
index 06fb3bf4d31a..6234676fd559 100644
--- a/packages/jest-cli/src/cli/index.ts
+++ b/packages/jest-cli/src/cli/index.ts
@@ -15,10 +15,16 @@ import {getVersion, runCLI} from '@jest/core';
 import chalk = require('chalk');
 import exit = require('exit');
 import yargs = require('yargs');
-import {sync as realpath} from 'realpath-native';
+import {sync as _realpath} from 'realpath-native';
+import shouldPreserveSymlinks from 'should-preserve-links';
 import init from '../init';
 import * as args from './args';
 
+const preserveSymlinks = shouldPreserveSymlinks();
+function realpath(p: string) {
+  return preserveSymlinks ? p : _realpath(p);
+}
+
 export async function run(
   maybeArgv?: Array<string>,
   project?: Config.Path,
diff --git a/packages/jest-cli/src/init/index.ts b/packages/jest-cli/src/init/index.ts
index b2503fc901f3..4e45f1016eb9 100644
--- a/packages/jest-cli/src/init/index.ts
+++ b/packages/jest-cli/src/init/index.ts
@@ -9,8 +9,9 @@ import * as path from 'path';
 import * as fs from 'graceful-fs';
 import chalk = require('chalk');
 import prompts = require('prompts');
-import {sync as realpath} from 'realpath-native';
+import {sync as _realpath} from 'realpath-native';
 import {constants} from 'jest-config';
+import shouldPreserveSymlinks from 'should-preserve-links';
 import defaultQuestions, {testScriptQuestion} from './questions';
 import {MalformedPackageJsonError, NotFoundPackageJsonError} from './errors';
 import generateConfigFile from './generate_config_file';
@@ -32,6 +33,11 @@ type PromptsResults = {
   scripts: boolean;
 };
 
+const preserveSymlinks = shouldPreserveSymlinks();
+function realpath(p: string) {
+  return preserveSymlinks ? p : _realpath(p);
+}
+
 const getConfigFilename = (ext: string) => JEST_CONFIG_BASE_NAME + ext;
 
 export default async (
diff --git a/packages/jest-config/package.json b/packages/jest-config/package.json
index d18735426d05..db2b723a751f 100644
--- a/packages/jest-config/package.json
+++ b/packages/jest-config/package.json
@@ -35,7 +35,8 @@
     "jest-validate": "^25.5.0",
     "micromatch": "^4.0.2",
     "pretty-format": "^25.5.0",
-    "realpath-native": "^2.0.0"
+    "realpath-native": "^2.0.0",
+    "should-preserve-links": "^1.0.4"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "@types/babel__core": "^7.0.4",
diff --git a/packages/jest-config/should-preserve-links.d.ts b/packages/jest-config/should-preserve-links.d.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..7fa8fb90fd2b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/jest-config/should-preserve-links.d.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (c) Facebook, Inc. and its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
+ *
+ * This source code is licensed under the MIT license found in the
+ * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
+ */
+
+declare module 'should-preserve-links' {
+  export default function shouldPreserveLinks(): boolean;
+}
diff --git a/packages/jest-config/src/getCacheDirectory.ts b/packages/jest-config/src/getCacheDirectory.ts
index 2871d1e5eaab..c42909c8b7f2 100644
--- a/packages/jest-config/src/getCacheDirectory.ts
+++ b/packages/jest-config/src/getCacheDirectory.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,14 @@
 
 import * as path from 'path';
 import {tmpdir} from 'os';
-import {sync as realpath} from 'realpath-native';
+import {sync as _realpath} from 'realpath-native';
+
+import shouldPreserveSymlinks from 'should-preserve-links';
+
+const preserveSymlinks = shouldPreserveSymlinks();
+function realpath(p: string) {
+  return preserveSymlinks ? p : _realpath(p);
+}
 
 const getCacheDirectory = () => {
   const {getuid} = process;
diff --git a/packages/jest-config/src/index.ts b/packages/jest-config/src/index.ts
index 0331c2d23379..7b4b895f23af 100644
--- a/packages/jest-config/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/jest-config/src/index.ts
@@ -9,7 +9,8 @@ import * as path from 'path';
 import * as fs from 'graceful-fs';
 import type {Config} from '@jest/types';
 import chalk = require('chalk');
-import {sync as realpath} from 'realpath-native';
+import {sync as _realpath} from 'realpath-native';
+import shouldPreserveSymlinks from 'should-preserve-links';
 import {isJSONString, replaceRootDirInPath} from './utils';
 import normalize from './normalize';
 import resolveConfigPath from './resolveConfigPath';
@@ -23,6 +24,11 @@ export {default as descriptions} from './Descriptions';
 import * as constants from './constants';
 export {constants};
 
+const preserveSymlinks = shouldPreserveSymlinks();
+function realpath(p: string) {
+  return preserveSymlinks ? p : _realpath(p);
+}
+
 type ReadConfig = {
   configPath: Config.Path | null | undefined;
   globalConfig: Config.GlobalConfig;
diff --git a/packages/jest-config/src/normalize.ts b/packages/jest-config/src/normalize.ts
index 4cff07d83bc8..564031d0b5a6 100644
--- a/packages/jest-config/src/normalize.ts
+++ b/packages/jest-config/src/normalize.ts
@@ -14,10 +14,11 @@ import {ValidationError, validate} from 'jest-validate';
 import {clearLine, replacePathSepForGlob} from 'jest-util';
 import chalk = require('chalk');
 import micromatch = require('micromatch');
-import {sync as realpath} from 'realpath-native';
+import {sync as _realpath} from 'realpath-native';
 import Resolver = require('jest-resolve');
 import {replacePathSepForRegex} from 'jest-regex-util';
 import merge = require('deepmerge');
+import shouldPreserveSymlinks from 'should-preserve-links';
 import validatePattern from './validatePattern';
 import getMaxWorkers from './getMaxWorkers';
 import {
@@ -45,6 +46,11 @@ const PRESET_NAME = 'jest-preset';
 
 type AllOptions = Config.ProjectConfig & Config.GlobalConfig;
 
+const preserveSymlinks = shouldPreserveSymlinks();
+function realpath(p: string) {
+  return preserveSymlinks ? p : _realpath(p);
+}
+
 const createConfigError = (message: string) =>
   new ValidationError(ERROR, message, DOCUMENTATION_NOTE);
 
diff --git a/packages/jest-core/package.json b/packages/jest-core/package.json
index 3e049195ccb6..284f818e196a 100644
--- a/packages/jest-core/package.json
+++ b/packages/jest-core/package.json
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@
     "p-each-series": "^2.1.0",
     "realpath-native": "^2.0.0",
     "rimraf": "^3.0.0",
+    "should-preserve-links": "^1.0.4",
     "slash": "^3.0.0",
     "strip-ansi": "^6.0.0"
   },
diff --git a/packages/jest-core/should-preserve-links.d.ts b/packages/jest-core/should-preserve-links.d.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..7fa8fb90fd2b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/jest-core/should-preserve-links.d.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (c) Facebook, Inc. and its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
+ *
+ * This source code is licensed under the MIT license found in the
+ * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
+ */
+
+declare module 'should-preserve-links' {
+  export default function shouldPreserveLinks(): boolean;
+}
diff --git a/packages/jest-core/src/runJest.ts b/packages/jest-core/src/runJest.ts
index bea930899c0d..676142907785 100644
--- a/packages/jest-core/src/runJest.ts
+++ b/packages/jest-core/src/runJest.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 
 import * as path from 'path';
 import chalk = require('chalk');
-import {sync as realpath} from 'realpath-native';
+import {sync as _realpath} from 'realpath-native';
 import {CustomConsole} from '@jest/console';
 import {interopRequireDefault} from 'jest-util';
 import exit = require('exit');
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import {
 } from '@jest/test-result';
 import type TestSequencer from '@jest/test-sequencer';
 import type {ChangedFiles, ChangedFilesPromise} from 'jest-changed-files';
+import shouldPreserveSymlinks from 'should-preserve-links';
 import getNoTestsFoundMessage from './getNoTestsFoundMessage';
 import runGlobalHook from './runGlobalHook';
 import SearchSource from './SearchSource';
@@ -32,6 +33,11 @@ import collectNodeHandles from './collectHandles';
 import type TestWatcher from './TestWatcher';
 import type {Filter, TestRunData} from './types';
 
+const preserveSymlinks = shouldPreserveSymlinks();
+function realpath(p: string) {
+  return preserveSymlinks ? p : _realpath(p);
+}
+
 const getTestPaths = async (
   globalConfig: Config.GlobalConfig,
   source: SearchSource,
diff --git a/packages/jest-haste-map/package.json b/packages/jest-haste-map/package.json
index 7b6deebf45df..1e91b9874c63 100644
--- a/packages/jest-haste-map/package.json
+++ b/packages/jest-haste-map/package.json
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@
     "jest-worker": "^25.5.0",
     "micromatch": "^4.0.2",
     "sane": "^4.0.3",
+    "should-preserve-links": "^1.0.4",
     "walker": "^1.0.7",
     "which": "^2.0.2"
   },
diff --git a/packages/jest-haste-map/should-preserve-links.d.ts b/packages/jest-haste-map/should-preserve-links.d.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..7fa8fb90fd2b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/jest-haste-map/should-preserve-links.d.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (c) Facebook, Inc. and its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
+ *
+ * This source code is licensed under the MIT license found in the
+ * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
+ */
+
+declare module 'should-preserve-links' {
+  export default function shouldPreserveLinks(): boolean;
+}
diff --git a/packages/jest-haste-map/src/crawlers/node.ts b/packages/jest-haste-map/src/crawlers/node.ts
index 0266816d91fb..2b47ac25d6e9 100644
--- a/packages/jest-haste-map/src/crawlers/node.ts
+++ b/packages/jest-haste-map/src/crawlers/node.ts
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ function find(
   roots: Array<string>,
   extensions: Array<string>,
   ignore: IgnoreMatcher,
+  preserveSymlinks: boolean,
   callback: Callback,
 ): void {
   const result: Result = [];
@@ -67,7 +68,7 @@ function find(
         }
 
         if (typeof entry !== 'string') {
-          if (entry.isSymbolicLink()) {
+          if (!preserveSymlinks && entry.isSymbolicLink()) {
             return;
           }
 
@@ -84,7 +85,7 @@ function find(
 
           // This logic is unnecessary for node > v10.10, but leaving it in
           // since we need it for backwards-compatibility still.
-          if (!err && stat && !stat.isSymbolicLink()) {
+          if (!err && stat && (preserveSymlinks || !stat.isSymbolicLink())) {
             if (stat.isDirectory()) {
               search(file);
             } else {
@@ -118,10 +119,17 @@ function findNative(
   roots: Array<string>,
   extensions: Array<string>,
   ignore: IgnoreMatcher,
+  preserveSymlinks: boolean,
   callback: Callback,
 ): void {
   const args = Array.from(roots);
-  args.push('-type', 'f');
+  if (preserveSymlinks) {
+    // follow symlinks to determine file type
+    args.unshift('-L');
+    args.push('( -not -type d )');
+  } else {
+    args.push('-type', 'f');
+  }
   if (extensions.length) {
     args.push('(');
   }
@@ -181,6 +189,7 @@ export = async function nodeCrawl(
     extensions,
     forceNodeFilesystemAPI,
     ignore,
+    preserveSymlinks,
     rootDir,
     roots,
   } = options;
@@ -212,9 +221,9 @@ export = async function nodeCrawl(
     };
 
     if (useNativeFind) {
-      findNative(roots, extensions, ignore, callback);
+      findNative(roots, extensions, ignore, preserveSymlinks, callback);
     } else {
-      find(roots, extensions, ignore, callback);
+      find(roots, extensions, ignore, preserveSymlinks, callback);
     }
   });
 };
diff --git a/packages/jest-haste-map/src/index.ts b/packages/jest-haste-map/src/index.ts
index 866a06a1b140..6a81fd2ed773 100644
--- a/packages/jest-haste-map/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/jest-haste-map/src/index.ts
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import {NodeWatcher, Watcher as SaneWatcher} from 'sane';
 import type {Config} from '@jest/types';
 import serializer from 'jest-serializer';
 import Worker from 'jest-worker';
+import shouldPreserveSymlinks from 'should-preserve-links';
 import {getSha1, worker} from './worker';
 import getMockName from './getMockName';
 import getPlatformExtension from './lib/getPlatformExtension';
@@ -45,6 +46,8 @@ import type {
   WorkerMetadata,
 } from './types';
 
+const preserveSymlinks = shouldPreserveSymlinks();
+
 type HType = typeof H;
 
 type Options = {
@@ -61,6 +64,7 @@ type Options = {
   mocksPattern?: string;
   name: string;
   platforms: Array<string>;
+  preserveSymlinks?: boolean;
   providesModuleNodeModules?: Array<string>;
   resetCache?: boolean;
   retainAllFiles: boolean;
@@ -85,6 +89,7 @@ type InternalOptions = {
   mocksPattern: RegExp | null;
   name: string;
   platforms: Array<string>;
+  preserveSymlinks: boolean;
   resetCache?: boolean;
   retainAllFiles: boolean;
   rootDir: string;
@@ -264,6 +269,7 @@ class HasteMap extends EventEmitter {
         : null,
       name: options.name,
       platforms: options.platforms,
+      preserveSymlinks: options.preserveSymlinks || preserveSymlinks,
       resetCache: options.resetCache,
       retainAllFiles: options.retainAllFiles,
       rootDir: options.rootDir,
@@ -749,6 +755,7 @@ class HasteMap extends EventEmitter {
       extensions: options.extensions,
       forceNodeFilesystemAPI: options.forceNodeFilesystemAPI,
       ignore,
+      preserveSymlinks: options.preserveSymlinks,
       rootDir: options.rootDir,
       roots: options.roots,
     };
diff --git a/packages/jest-haste-map/src/types.ts b/packages/jest-haste-map/src/types.ts
index 6d09b1fdc182..6b0c90f56e2b 100644
--- a/packages/jest-haste-map/src/types.ts
+++ b/packages/jest-haste-map/src/types.ts
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ export type CrawlerOptions = {
   forceNodeFilesystemAPI: boolean;
   ignore: IgnoreMatcher;
   rootDir: string;
+  preserveSymlinks: boolean;
   roots: Array<string>;
 };
 
diff --git a/packages/jest-resolve/package.json b/packages/jest-resolve/package.json
index 4ad1b61c8f33..182f0c6108de 100644
--- a/packages/jest-resolve/package.json
+++ b/packages/jest-resolve/package.json
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
     "read-pkg-up": "^7.0.1",
     "realpath-native": "^2.0.0",
     "resolve": "^1.17.0",
+    "should-preserve-links": "^1.0.4",
     "slash": "^3.0.0"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
diff --git a/packages/jest-resolve/should-preserve-links.d.ts b/packages/jest-resolve/should-preserve-links.d.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..7fa8fb90fd2b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/jest-resolve/should-preserve-links.d.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (c) Facebook, Inc. and its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
+ *
+ * This source code is licensed under the MIT license found in the
+ * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
+ */
+
+declare module 'should-preserve-links' {
+  export default function shouldPreserveLinks(): boolean;
+}
diff --git a/packages/jest-resolve/src/defaultResolver.ts b/packages/jest-resolve/src/defaultResolver.ts
index e66a74036a3f..3af4cb9ee832 100644
--- a/packages/jest-resolve/src/defaultResolver.ts
+++ b/packages/jest-resolve/src/defaultResolver.ts
@@ -8,10 +8,17 @@
 import * as fs from 'graceful-fs';
 import {sync as resolveSync} from 'resolve';
 import {sync as browserResolve} from 'browser-resolve';
-import {sync as realpath} from 'realpath-native';
+import {sync as _realpath} from 'realpath-native';
 import pnpResolver from 'jest-pnp-resolver';
 import type {Config} from '@jest/types';
 
+import shouldPreserveSymlinks from 'should-preserve-links';
+
+const preserveSymlinks = shouldPreserveSymlinks();
+function realpath(p: string) {
+  return preserveSymlinks ? p : _realpath(p);
+}
+
 type ResolverOptions = {
   basedir: Config.Path;
   browser?: boolean;
@@ -40,7 +47,7 @@ export default function defaultResolver(
     isFile,
     moduleDirectory: options.moduleDirectory,
     paths: options.paths,
-    preserveSymlinks: false,
+    preserveSymlinks,
     // @ts-ignore: https://github.com/DefinitelyTyped/DefinitelyTyped/pull/44137
     realpathSync,
   });
diff --git a/packages/jest-resolve/src/index.ts b/packages/jest-resolve/src/index.ts
index 19937efafd7b..14dedecfa7ec 100644
--- a/packages/jest-resolve/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/jest-resolve/src/index.ts
@@ -8,8 +8,9 @@
 import * as path from 'path';
 import type {Config} from '@jest/types';
 import type {ModuleMap} from 'jest-haste-map';
-import {sync as realpath} from 'realpath-native';
+import {sync as _realpath} from 'realpath-native';
 import chalk = require('chalk');
+import shouldPreserveSymlinks from 'should-preserve-links';
 import nodeModulesPaths from './nodeModulesPaths';
 import isBuiltinModule from './isBuiltinModule';
 import defaultResolver, {clearDefaultResolverCache} from './defaultResolver';
@@ -17,6 +18,11 @@ import type {ResolverConfig} from './types';
 import ModuleNotFoundError from './ModuleNotFoundError';
 import shouldLoadAsEsm, {clearCachedLookups} from './shouldLoadAsEsm';
 
+const preserveSymlinks = shouldPreserveSymlinks();
+function realpath(p: string) {
+  return preserveSymlinks ? p : _realpath(p);
+}
+
 type FindNodeModuleConfig = {
   basedir: Config.Path;
   browser?: boolean;
diff --git a/packages/jest-resolve/src/nodeModulesPaths.ts b/packages/jest-resolve/src/nodeModulesPaths.ts
index dddf52229a13..542a03061f66 100644
--- a/packages/jest-resolve/src/nodeModulesPaths.ts
+++ b/packages/jest-resolve/src/nodeModulesPaths.ts
@@ -9,13 +9,20 @@
 
 import * as path from 'path';
 import type {Config} from '@jest/types';
-import {sync as realpath} from 'realpath-native';
+import {sync as _realpath} from 'realpath-native';
 
 type NodeModulesPathsOptions = {
   moduleDirectory?: Array<string>;
   paths?: Array<Config.Path>;
 };
 
+import shouldPreserveSymlinks from 'should-preserve-links';
+
+const preserveSymlinks = shouldPreserveSymlinks();
+function realpath(p: string) {
+  return preserveSymlinks ? p : _realpath(p);
+}
+
 export default function nodeModulesPaths(
   basedir: Config.Path,
   options: NodeModulesPathsOptions,
diff --git a/packages/jest-runtime/package.json b/packages/jest-runtime/package.json
index d145df1016b5..666973adadbb 100644
--- a/packages/jest-runtime/package.json
+++ b/packages/jest-runtime/package.json
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@
     "jest-util": "^25.5.0",
     "jest-validate": "^25.5.0",
     "realpath-native": "^2.0.0",
+    "should-preserve-links": "^1.0.4",
     "slash": "^3.0.0",
     "strip-bom": "^4.0.0",
     "yargs": "^15.3.1"
diff --git a/packages/jest-runtime/should-preserve-links.d.ts b/packages/jest-runtime/should-preserve-links.d.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..7fa8fb90fd2b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/jest-runtime/should-preserve-links.d.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (c) Facebook, Inc. and its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
+ *
+ * This source code is licensed under the MIT license found in the
+ * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
+ */
+
+declare module 'should-preserve-links' {
+  export default function shouldPreserveLinks(): boolean;
+}
diff --git a/packages/jest-runtime/src/cli/index.ts b/packages/jest-runtime/src/cli/index.ts
index 099373e2f67c..d360bf829bc0 100644
--- a/packages/jest-runtime/src/cli/index.ts
+++ b/packages/jest-runtime/src/cli/index.ts
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 import {cpus} from 'os';
 import * as path from 'path';
 import chalk = require('chalk');
-import {sync as realpath} from 'realpath-native';
+import {sync as _realpath} from 'realpath-native';
 import yargs = require('yargs');
 import type {Config} from '@jest/types';
 import type {JestEnvironment} from '@jest/environment';
@@ -16,10 +16,16 @@ import {CustomConsole} from '@jest/console';
 import {setGlobal} from 'jest-util';
 import {validateCLIOptions} from 'jest-validate';
 import {deprecationEntries, readConfig} from 'jest-config';
+import shouldPreserveSymlinks from 'should-preserve-links';
 import {VERSION} from '../version';
 import type {Context} from '../types';
 import * as args from './args';
 
+const preserveSymlinks = shouldPreserveSymlinks();
+function realpath(p: string) {
+  return preserveSymlinks ? p : _realpath(p);
+}
+
 export async function run(
   cliArgv?: Config.Argv,
   cliInfo?: Array<string>,
diff --git a/packages/jest-runtime/src/index.ts b/packages/jest-runtime/src/index.ts
index 32c1c751b7f1..e171221bed3a 100644
--- a/packages/jest-runtime/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/jest-runtime/src/index.ts
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ import {
 import type {V8CoverageResult} from '@jest/test-result';
 import {CoverageInstrumenter, V8Coverage} from 'collect-v8-coverage';
 import * as fs from 'graceful-fs';
+import shouldPreserveSymlinks from 'should-preserve-links';
 import {run as cliRun} from './cli';
 import {options as cliOptions} from './cli/args';
 import {findSiblingsWithFileExtension} from './helpers';
@@ -86,6 +87,8 @@ type ResolveOptions = Parameters<typeof require.resolve>[1];
 type StringMap = Map<string, string>;
 type BooleanMap = Map<string, boolean>;
 
+const preserveSymlinks = shouldPreserveSymlinks();
+
 const fromEntries: typeof Object.fromEntries =
   Object.fromEntries ??
   function fromEntries<T>(iterable: Iterable<[string, T]>) {
@@ -287,6 +290,7 @@ class Runtime {
       mocksPattern: escapePathForRegex(path.sep + '__mocks__' + path.sep),
       name: config.name,
       platforms: config.haste.platforms || ['ios', 'android'],
+      preserveSymlinks,
       providesModuleNodeModules: config.haste.providesModuleNodeModules,
       resetCache: options && options.resetCache,
       retainAllFiles: false,
diff --git a/packages/jest-transform/package.json b/packages/jest-transform/package.json
index a4bb71051a1d..89ac9b6b045c 100644
--- a/packages/jest-transform/package.json
+++ b/packages/jest-transform/package.json
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@
     "micromatch": "^4.0.2",
     "pirates": "^4.0.1",
     "realpath-native": "^2.0.0",
+    "should-preserve-links": "^1.0.4",
     "slash": "^3.0.0",
     "source-map": "^0.6.1",
     "write-file-atomic": "^3.0.0"
diff --git a/packages/jest-transform/should-preserve-links.d.ts b/packages/jest-transform/should-preserve-links.d.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..7fa8fb90fd2b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/jest-transform/should-preserve-links.d.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (c) Facebook, Inc. and its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
+ *
+ * This source code is licensed under the MIT license found in the
+ * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
+ */
+
+declare module 'should-preserve-links' {
+  export default function shouldPreserveLinks(): boolean;
+}
diff --git a/packages/jest-transform/src/ScriptTransformer.ts b/packages/jest-transform/src/ScriptTransformer.ts
index 46ae3afb049f..cfb382296b86 100644
--- a/packages/jest-transform/src/ScriptTransformer.ts
+++ b/packages/jest-transform/src/ScriptTransformer.ts
@@ -18,8 +18,9 @@ import HasteMap = require('jest-haste-map');
 import stableStringify = require('fast-json-stable-stringify');
 import slash = require('slash');
 import {sync as writeFileAtomic} from 'write-file-atomic';
-import {sync as realpath} from 'realpath-native';
+import {sync as _realpath} from 'realpath-native';
 import {addHook} from 'pirates';
+import shouldPreserveSymlinks from 'should-preserve-links';
 import type {
   Options,
   TransformResult,
@@ -29,6 +30,11 @@ import type {
 import shouldInstrument from './shouldInstrument';
 import handlePotentialSyntaxError from './enhanceUnexpectedTokenMessage';
 
+const preserveSymlinks = shouldPreserveSymlinks();
+function realpath(p: string) {
+  return preserveSymlinks ? p : _realpath(p);
+}
+
 type ProjectCache = {
   configString: string;
   ignorePatternsRegExp?: RegExp;
diff --git a/yarn.lock b/yarn.lock
index 253db2b1ef97..4b6b277dab98 100644
--- a/yarn.lock
+++ b/yarn.lock
@@ -13165,6 +13165,11 @@ shellwords@^0.1.1:
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/shellwords/-/shellwords-0.1.1.tgz#d6b9181c1a48d397324c84871efbcfc73fc0654b"
   integrity sha512-vFwSUfQvqybiICwZY5+DAWIPLKsWO31Q91JSKl3UYv+K5c2QRPzn0qzec6QPu1Qc9eHYItiP3NdJqNVqetYAww==
 
+should-preserve-links@^1.0.4:
+  version "1.0.4"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/should-preserve-links/-/should-preserve-links-1.0.4.tgz#7b2a0b44efb9f0edd94332a06af92d84cc988876"
+  integrity sha512-73GxeFbAj4PAj/q4lHvui1hd1X6TWRgG41znftUvwQa+lNRz+X73od8Z5N4CyD2xCFE2PDMUvIfkYSyhwJaI4A==
+
 side-channel@^1.0.2:
   version "1.0.2"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/side-channel/-/side-channel-1.0.2.tgz#df5d1abadb4e4bf4af1cd8852bf132d2f7876947"