diff --git a/hw/vfio/ap.c b/hw/vfio/ap.c
index 65de952f44..0a25f5e096 100644
--- a/hw/vfio/ap.c
+++ b/hw/vfio/ap.c
@@ -104,6 +104,14 @@ static void vfio_ap_realize(DeviceState *dev, Error **errp)
     vapdev->vdev.name = g_strdup_printf("%s", mdevid);
     vapdev->vdev.dev = dev;
 
+    /*
+     * vfio-ap devices operate in a way compatible with
+     * memory ballooning, as no pages are pinned in the host.
+     * This needs to be set before vfio_get_device() for vfio common to
+     * handle the balloon inhibitor.
+     */
+    vapdev->vdev.balloon_allowed = true;
+
     ret = vfio_get_device(vfio_group, mdevid, &vapdev->vdev, &local_err);
     if (ret) {
         goto out_get_dev_err;