diff --git a/src/tools/illink/src/linker/Linker.Steps/MarkStep.cs b/src/tools/illink/src/linker/Linker.Steps/MarkStep.cs
index bd432d015d76e6..bc49baef4fe423 100644
--- a/src/tools/illink/src/linker/Linker.Steps/MarkStep.cs
+++ b/src/tools/illink/src/linker/Linker.Steps/MarkStep.cs
@@ -2030,6 +2030,9 @@ internal void MarkRelevantToVariantCasting(TypeDefinition type)
         {
             _typeMapHandler.ProcessType(type);
             Annotations.MarkRelevantToVariantCasting(type);
+
+            if (Context.TryResolve(type.BaseType) is TypeDefinition baseType && !Annotations.IsRelevantToVariantCasting(baseType))
+                MarkRelevantToVariantCasting(baseType);
         }
 
         internal void MarkMethodVisibleToReflection(MethodReference method, in DependencyInfo reason, in MessageOrigin origin, bool suppressTrimAnalysisWarnings = false)
diff --git a/src/tools/illink/test/Mono.Linker.Tests.Cases/Generics/VariantCasting.cs b/src/tools/illink/test/Mono.Linker.Tests.Cases/Generics/VariantCasting.cs
index 1cd765dce5d74f..40489af3c42f06 100644
--- a/src/tools/illink/test/Mono.Linker.Tests.Cases/Generics/VariantCasting.cs
+++ b/src/tools/illink/test/Mono.Linker.Tests.Cases/Generics/VariantCasting.cs
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-using System.Reflection;
+using System;
+using System.Reflection;
 
 using Mono.Linker.Tests.Cases.Expectations.Assertions;
 
@@ -59,11 +60,61 @@ class Boring<T> : Interesting<T>
             public Boring() { }
         }
 
+        [Kept]
+        interface IInner
+        {
+            [Kept(By = Tool.Trimmer)] // NativeAOT removes interface methods that no constructed type implements
+            void InnerMethod();
+        }
+
+        [Kept]
+        [KeptInterface(typeof(IInner))]
+        interface IOuter<T> : IInner
+        {
+            [Kept(By = Tool.Trimmer)]
+            void OuterMethod();
+        }
+
+        interface IUnused<T> : IOuter<T>
+        {
+        }
+
+        [Kept(By = Tool.Trimmer)] // NativeAOT does not need the metadata of an unconstructed base type
+        [KeptInterface(typeof(IOuter<>), "T", By = Tool.Trimmer)]
+        [KeptInterface(typeof(IInner), By = Tool.Trimmer)]
+        abstract class UninstantiatedBaseWithInterfaces<T> : IOuter<T>
+        {
+            [Kept(By = Tool.Trimmer)]
+            public void OuterMethod() { }
+
+            [Kept(By = Tool.Trimmer)]
+            void IInner.InnerMethod() { }
+        }
+
+        // Only reachable through typeof. The interfaces of the base type must be kept together with the ones on this type.
+        [Kept]
+        [KeptBaseType(typeof(UninstantiatedBaseWithInterfaces<>), "T")]
+        [KeptInterface(typeof(IOuter<>), "T")]
+        [KeptInterface(typeof(IInner))]
+        class UninstantiatedDerivedWithInterfaces<T> : UninstantiatedBaseWithInterfaces<T>, IUnused<T>
+        {
+        }
+
+        [Kept]
+        static void UseInterfaceMethods(IOuter<int> outer)
+        {
+            outer.OuterMethod();
+            ((IInner)outer).InnerMethod();
+        }
+
         public static void Main()
         {
             // These casts need to succeed after trimming
             IVariant<IFoo> foos = (IVariant<IFoo>)(object)new Boring<Foo>();
             IVariant<Base> bases = (IVariant<Base>)(object)new Boring<Derived>();
+
+            Type type = typeof(UninstantiatedDerivedWithInterfaces<>);
+            UseInterfaceMethods(null);
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/tools/illink/test/Mono.Linker.Tests.Cases/Reflection/TypeMap.cs b/src/tools/illink/test/Mono.Linker.Tests.Cases/Reflection/TypeMap.cs
index bf004eec994ec8..a8dd1b3d1ae59b 100644
--- a/src/tools/illink/test/Mono.Linker.Tests.Cases/Reflection/TypeMap.cs
+++ b/src/tools/illink/test/Mono.Linker.Tests.Cases/Reflection/TypeMap.cs
@@ -99,6 +99,10 @@
 [assembly: KeptAttributeAttribute(typeof(TypeMapAttribute<UsedTypeMap>), "ProxyTargetIsAlsoTrimTarget", typeof(ProxyTargetIsAlsoTrimTargetTarget), typeof(ProxyTargetIsAlsoTrimTarget))]
 [assembly: KeptAttributeAttribute(typeof(TypeMapAssociationAttribute<UsedTypeMap>), typeof(ProxyTargetIsAlsoTrimTargetSource), typeof(ProxyTargetIsAlsoTrimTarget))]
 
+// Verify that a type only reachable through typeof (and therefore relevant to variant casting) also processes the type map entries of its base types.
+[assembly: TypeMap<UsedTypeMap>("BaseOfTypeofOnlyDerived", typeof(BaseOfTypeofOnlyDerivedTarget), typeof(BaseOfTypeofOnlyDerived))] // Kept
+[assembly: KeptAttributeAttribute(typeof(TypeMapAttribute<UsedTypeMap>), "BaseOfTypeofOnlyDerived", typeof(BaseOfTypeofOnlyDerivedTarget), typeof(BaseOfTypeofOnlyDerived), By = Tool.Trimmer)]
+
 namespace Mono.Linker.Tests.Cases.Reflection
 {
     [SetupLinkerAction("link", "System.Private.CoreLib")] // Needed to get the RemoveAttributeInstances in embedded xml
@@ -256,6 +260,10 @@ static void ConstrainedStaticCall<T>(T t) where T : IStaticInterface
             // is processed first via MarkTypeMapAttribute → MarkRequirementsForInstantiatedTypes.
             _ = new ProxyTargetIsAlsoTrimTargetSource();
             Console.WriteLine(new ProxyTargetIsAlsoTrimTarget());
+
+            // Neither type is instantiated, but typeof makes TypeofOnlyDerived relevant to variant casting,
+            // which makes its base type relevant to variant casting too, so the base type's type map entries must be kept.
+            Console.WriteLine(typeof(TypeofOnlyDerived));
         }
 
         [ExpectBodyModified]
@@ -615,4 +623,12 @@ class ProxyTargetIsAlsoTrimTargetTarget;
     [Kept]
     [KeptMember(".ctor()")]
     class ProxyTargetIsAlsoTrimTargetSource;
+
+    [Kept]
+    class BaseOfTypeofOnlyDerived;
+    [Kept]
+    class BaseOfTypeofOnlyDerivedTarget;
+    [Kept]
+    [KeptBaseType(typeof(BaseOfTypeofOnlyDerived))]
+    class TypeofOnlyDerived : BaseOfTypeofOnlyDerived;
 }