diff --git a/modules/swagger-codegen/src/main/java/io/swagger/codegen/DefaultCodegen.java b/modules/swagger-codegen/src/main/java/io/swagger/codegen/DefaultCodegen.java
index 8b3655000bbe..f53b5943e19d 100644
--- a/modules/swagger-codegen/src/main/java/io/swagger/codegen/DefaultCodegen.java
+++ b/modules/swagger-codegen/src/main/java/io/swagger/codegen/DefaultCodegen.java
@@ -2886,7 +2886,7 @@ public class DefaultCodegen {
      * @return true if the library/module/package of the corresponding type needs to be imported
      */
     protected boolean needToImport(String type) {
-        return !defaultIncludes.contains(type)
+        return StringUtils.isNotBlank(type) && !defaultIncludes.contains(type)
             && !languageSpecificPrimitives.contains(type);
     }