diff --git a/rtl/inc/variants.pp b/rtl/inc/variants.pp
index 56215fa7e1..d91c32ae4d 100644
--- a/rtl/inc/variants.pp
+++ b/rtl/inc/variants.pp
@@ -2197,6 +2197,8 @@ begin
       RefAnyProc(Dest);
     end else if vType and varArray <> 0 then
       DoVarCopyArray(Dest, Source, @DoVarCopy)
+    else if (vType and varByRef <> 0) and (vType xor varByRef = varString) then
+      Dest := Source
     else if FindCustomVariantType(vType, Handler) then
       Handler.Copy(Dest, Source, False)
     else