diff --git a/.github/workflows/continuous-integration.yml b/.github/workflows/continuous-integration.yml
index 9b8ab937b8..21f2ae7374 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/continuous-integration.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/continuous-integration.yml
@@ -84,6 +84,10 @@ jobs:
         run: "composer require doctrine/dbal ^${{ matrix.dbal-version }} --no-update"
         if: "${{ matrix.dbal-version != 'default' }}"
 
+      - name: "Downgrade VarExporter"
+        run: 'composer require --no-update "symfony/var-exporter:^6.4 || ^7.4"'
+        if: "${{ matrix.native_lazy == '0' }}"
+
       - name: "Install dependencies with Composer"
         uses: "ramsey/composer-install@v3"
         with:
diff --git a/composer.json b/composer.json
index 004368503f..de6dcbdc6d 100644
--- a/composer.json
+++ b/composer.json
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@
         "doctrine/persistence": "^3.3.1 || ^4",
         "psr/cache": "^1 || ^2 || ^3",
         "symfony/console": "^5.4 || ^6.0 || ^7.0 || ^8.0",
-        "symfony/var-exporter": "^6.3.9 || ^7.0"
+        "symfony/var-exporter": "^6.3.9 || ^7.0 || ^8.0"
     },
     "require-dev": {
         "doctrine/coding-standard": "^14.0",
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@
         "phpstan/phpstan-deprecation-rules": "^2",
         "phpunit/phpunit": "^10.5.0 || ^11.5",
         "psr/log": "^1 || ^2 || ^3",
-        "symfony/cache": "^5.4 || ^6.2 || ^7.0"
+        "symfony/cache": "^5.4 || ^6.2 || ^7.0 || ^8.0"
     },
     "suggest": {
         "ext-dom": "Provides support for XSD validation for XML mapping files",
diff --git a/src/ORMInvalidArgumentException.php b/src/ORMInvalidArgumentException.php
index acf1393619..144b93913f 100644
--- a/src/ORMInvalidArgumentException.php
+++ b/src/ORMInvalidArgumentException.php
@@ -160,6 +160,11 @@ public static function proxyDirectoryRequired(): self
         return new self('You must configure a proxy directory. See docs for details');
     }
 
+    public static function lazyGhostUnavailable(): self
+    {
+        return new self('Symfony LazyGhost is not available. Please install the "symfony/var-exporter" package version 6.4 or 7 to use this feature or enable PHP 8.4 native lazy objects.');
+    }
+
     public static function proxyNamespaceRequired(): self
     {
         return new self('You must configure a proxy namespace');
diff --git a/src/Proxy/ProxyFactory.php b/src/Proxy/ProxyFactory.php
index 4518dfc187..e1bb99d02f 100644
--- a/src/Proxy/ProxyFactory.php
+++ b/src/Proxy/ProxyFactory.php
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@
 use function is_int;
 use function is_writable;
 use function ltrim;
+use function method_exists;
 use function mkdir;
 use function preg_match_all;
 use function random_bytes;
@@ -161,6 +162,11 @@ public function __construct(
                 );
             }
 
+            // @phpstan-ignore function.impossibleType (This method has been removed in Symfony 8)
+            if (! method_exists(ProxyHelper::class, 'generateLazyGhost')) {
+                throw ORMInvalidArgumentException::lazyGhostUnavailable();
+            }
+
             if (! $proxyDir) {
                 throw ORMInvalidArgumentException::proxyDirectoryRequired();
             }
@@ -464,7 +470,7 @@ private function generateProxyClass(ClassMetadata $class, string|null $fileName,
 
     private function generateUseLazyGhostTrait(ClassMetadata $class): string
     {
-        // @phpstan-ignore staticMethod.deprecated (Because we support Symfony < 7.3)
+        // @phpstan-ignore staticMethod.notFound (This method has been removed in Symfony 8)
         $code = ProxyHelper::generateLazyGhost($class->getReflectionClass());
         $code = substr($code, 7 + (int) strpos($code, "\n{"));
         $code = substr($code, 0, (int) strpos($code, "\n}"));
diff --git a/tests/Tests/ORM/Persisters/BinaryIdPersisterTest.php b/tests/Tests/ORM/Persisters/BinaryIdPersisterTest.php
index fdeaeddb12..f1ab47277b 100644
--- a/tests/Tests/ORM/Persisters/BinaryIdPersisterTest.php
+++ b/tests/Tests/ORM/Persisters/BinaryIdPersisterTest.php
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@
 use Doctrine\Tests\Models\BinaryPrimaryKey\Category;
 use Doctrine\Tests\OrmTestCase;
 
+use const PHP_VERSION_ID;
+
 final class BinaryIdPersisterTest extends OrmTestCase
 {
     private EntityManager|null $entityManager = null;
@@ -64,6 +66,7 @@ private function createEntityManager(): EntityManager
         }
 
         $config = ORMSetup::createAttributeMetadataConfiguration([__DIR__ . '/../../Models/BinaryPrimaryKey'], isDevMode: true);
+        $config->enableNativeLazyObjects(PHP_VERSION_ID >= 80400);
 
         if (! DbalType::hasType(BinaryIdType::NAME)) {
             DbalType::addType(BinaryIdType::NAME, BinaryIdType::class);
diff --git a/tests/Tests/ORM/Proxy/ProxyFactoryTest.php b/tests/Tests/ORM/Proxy/ProxyFactoryTest.php
index 4e826ebca9..2295fd274c 100644
--- a/tests/Tests/ORM/Proxy/ProxyFactoryTest.php
+++ b/tests/Tests/ORM/Proxy/ProxyFactoryTest.php
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 use Doctrine\Deprecations\PHPUnit\VerifyDeprecations;
 use Doctrine\ORM\EntityNotFoundException;
 use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping\ClassMetadata;
+use Doctrine\ORM\ORMInvalidArgumentException;
 use Doctrine\ORM\Persisters\Entity\BasicEntityPersister;
 use Doctrine\ORM\Proxy\ProxyFactory;
 use Doctrine\Persistence\Mapping\RuntimeReflectionService;
@@ -22,10 +23,12 @@
 use Doctrine\Tests\OrmTestCase;
 use PHPUnit\Framework\Attributes\Group;
 use PHPUnit\Framework\Attributes\IgnoreDeprecations;
+use PHPUnit\Framework\Attributes\RequiresMethod;
 use PHPUnit\Framework\Attributes\RequiresPhp;
 use ReflectionClass;
 use ReflectionProperty;
 use stdClass;
+use Symfony\Component\VarExporter\ProxyHelper;
 
 use function assert;
 use function method_exists;
@@ -247,6 +250,7 @@ public function testProxyFactoryAcceptsNullProxyArgsWhenNativeLazyObjectsAreEnab
     }
 
     #[RequiresPhp('8.4')]
+    #[RequiresMethod(ProxyHelper::class, 'generateLazyGhost')]
     #[IgnoreDeprecations]
     public function testProxyFactoryTriggersDeprecationWhenNativeLazyObjectsAreDisabled(): void
     {
@@ -276,6 +280,25 @@ public function testProxyFactoryDoesNotTriggerDeprecationWhenNativeLazyObjectsAr
             ProxyFactory::AUTOGENERATE_ALWAYS,
         );
     }
+
+    public function testProxyFactoryThrowsIfLazyGhostsAreUnavailable(): void
+    {
+        if (method_exists(ProxyHelper::class, 'generateLazyGhost')) {
+            self::markTestSkipped('This test is not relevant when lazy ghosts are available');
+        }
+
+        $this->emMock->getConfiguration()->enableNativeLazyObjects(false);
+
+        $this->expectException(ORMInvalidArgumentException::class);
+        $this->expectExceptionMessage('Symfony LazyGhost is not available. Please install the "symfony/var-exporter" package version 6.4 or 7 to use this feature or enable PHP 8.4 native lazy objects.');
+
+        new ProxyFactory(
+            $this->emMock,
+            sys_get_temp_dir(),
+            'Proxies',
+            ProxyFactory::AUTOGENERATE_ALWAYS,
+        );
+    }
 }
 
 abstract class AbstractClass