diff --git a/modules/clan/router/firewall.nix b/modules/clan/router/firewall.nix
index 4555fcb..f41b0a8 100644
--- a/modules/clan/router/firewall.nix
+++ b/modules/clan/router/firewall.nix
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 #   other VLANs -> DNS/DHCP on the router + WAN (if allowWan); no inter-VLAN
 #   WAN (ppp0) -> nothing inbound beyond established/related
 #   mesh       -> admin SSH + metrics scrapes (same trust boundary as the fleet)
+#   staging    -> admin SSH only (pre-cutover uplink into the old LAN)
 { settings }:
 { lib, ... }:
 let
@@ -26,14 +27,20 @@ in
     filterForward = true;
     trustedInterfaces = [ "vlan-mgmt" ];
 
-    # Non-mgmt VLANs may only talk to the router's DNS and DHCP.
-    interfaces = lib.genAttrs nonMgmtIfs (_: {
-      allowedTCPPorts = [ 53 ];
-      allowedUDPPorts = [
-        53
-        67
-      ];
-    });
+    # Non-mgmt VLANs may only talk to the router's DNS and DHCP; the staging
+    # uplink (old LAN, pre-cutover) gets admin SSH so the box can be reached
+    # before the mgmt VLAN or the mesh are up.
+    interfaces =
+      lib.genAttrs nonMgmtIfs (_: {
+        allowedTCPPorts = [ 53 ];
+        allowedUDPPorts = [
+          53
+          67
+        ];
+      })
+      // lib.optionalAttrs (cfg.stagingPort != null) {
+        ${cfg.stagingPort}.allowedTCPPorts = [ 22 ];
+      };
 
     extraInputRules = ''
       ip6 saddr ${cfg.mesh.subnet} tcp dport 22 accept comment "admin ssh over the mesh"