diff --git a/readthedocs/projects/tasks/search.py b/readthedocs/projects/tasks/search.py
index bcab6200a77..9fb8c9dbbb6 100644
--- a/readthedocs/projects/tasks/search.py
+++ b/readthedocs/projects/tasks/search.py
@@ -132,7 +132,10 @@ def _create_imported_files_and_search_index(
      otherwise the default one will be used.
     """
     storage_path = version.project.get_storage_path(
-        type_="html", version_slug=version.slug, include_file=False
+        type_="html",
+        version_slug=version.slug,
+        include_file=False,
+        version_type=version.type,
     )
     # A sync ID is a number different than the current `build` attribute (pending rename),
     # it's used to differentiate the files from the current sync from the previous one.
diff --git a/readthedocs/rtd_tests/tests/test_imported_file.py b/readthedocs/rtd_tests/tests/test_imported_file.py
index 82e25f98b88..7ea1b83ee0c 100644
--- a/readthedocs/rtd_tests/tests/test_imported_file.py
+++ b/readthedocs/rtd_tests/tests/test_imported_file.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 from django.test import TestCase
 from django.test.utils import override_settings
 
+from readthedocs.builds.constants import EXTERNAL
 from readthedocs.projects.models import HTMLFile, ImportedFile, Project
 from readthedocs.projects.tasks.search import _create_imported_files_and_search_index
 from readthedocs.search.documents import PageDocument
@@ -26,13 +27,19 @@ def setUp(self):
         with override_settings(DOCROOT=self.test_dir):
             self._copy_storage_dir()
 
-    def tearDown(self):
+        self._create_index()
+
+    def _create_index(self):
         try:
-            PageDocument().search().filter().delete()
+            PageDocument.init()
         except Exception:
-            # If there are no documents, the query fails.
+            # If the index already exists, the init fails.
             pass
 
+    def tearDown(self):
+        # Delete index
+        PageDocument._index.delete(ignore=404)
+
     def _manage_imported_files(self, version, search_ranking=None, search_ignore=None):
         """Helper function for the tests to create and sync ImportedFiles."""
         search_ranking = search_ranking or {}
@@ -51,6 +58,7 @@ def _copy_storage_dir(self):
                 type_="html",
                 version_slug=self.version.slug,
                 include_file=False,
+                version_type=self.version.type,
             ),
         )
 
@@ -93,6 +101,33 @@ def test_properly_created(self):
             {"index.html", "404.html", "test.html", "api/index.html"},
         )
 
+    def test_index_external_version(self):
+        self.assertEqual(ImportedFile.objects.count(), 0)
+        self.version.type = EXTERNAL
+        self.version.save()
+
+        with override_settings(DOCROOT=self.test_dir):
+            self._copy_storage_dir()
+
+        sync_id = self._manage_imported_files(version=self.version)
+        self.assertEqual(ImportedFile.objects.count(), 3)
+        self.assertEqual(
+            set(HTMLFile.objects.all().values_list("path", flat=True)),
+            {"index.html", "api/index.html", "404.html"},
+        )
+
+        results = PageDocument().search().filter("term", build=sync_id).execute()
+        self.assertEqual(len(results), 0)
+
+        sync_id = self._manage_imported_files(version=self.version)
+        self.assertEqual(ImportedFile.objects.count(), 3)
+        self.assertEqual(
+            set(HTMLFile.objects.all().values_list("path", flat=True)),
+            {"index.html", "api/index.html", "404.html"},
+        )
+
+        self.assertEqual(len(results), 0)
+
     def test_update_build(self):
         self.assertEqual(ImportedFile.objects.count(), 0)
         sync_id = self._manage_imported_files(self.version)