diff --git a/swh/lister/gitlab/lister.py b/swh/lister/gitlab/lister.py
--- a/swh/lister/gitlab/lister.py
+++ b/swh/lister/gitlab/lister.py
@@ -66,10 +66,13 @@
                 params['auth'] = (auth['username'], auth['password'])
         return params
 
+    def uid(self, repo):
+        return '%s/%s' % (self.instance, repo['path_with_namespace'])
+
     def get_model_from_repo(self, repo):
         return {
             'instance': self.instance,
-            'uid': repo['id'],
+            'uid': self.uid(repo),
             'name': repo['name'],
             'full_name': repo['path_with_namespace'],
             'html_url': repo['web_url'],
diff --git a/swh/lister/gitlab/models.py b/swh/lister/gitlab/models.py
--- a/swh/lister/gitlab/models.py
+++ b/swh/lister/gitlab/models.py
@@ -13,8 +13,7 @@
     """
     __tablename__ = 'gitlab_repo'
 
-    id = Column(Integer, primary_key=True)
-    uid = Column(Integer, index=True)
+    uid = Column(String, primary_key=True)
     instance = Column(String, index=True)
 
     def __init__(self, uid=None, indexable=None, name=None,