diff --git a/integrations/operator/controllers/resources/base_reconciler.go b/integrations/operator/controllers/resources/base_reconciler.go
index d0515141f5002..bbf199841d9c2 100644
--- a/integrations/operator/controllers/resources/base_reconciler.go
+++ b/integrations/operator/controllers/resources/base_reconciler.go
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ package resources
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"fmt"
 
 	"github.com/gravitational/trace"
 	apierrors "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/errors"
@@ -29,9 +30,18 @@ import (
 	ctrllog "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/log"
 )
 
-// DeletionFinalizer is a name of finalizer added to resource's 'finalizers' field
-// for tracking deletion events.
-const DeletionFinalizer = "resources.teleport.dev/deletion"
+const (
+	// DeletionFinalizer is a name of finalizer added to resource's 'finalizers' field
+	// for tracking deletion events.
+	DeletionFinalizer = "resources.teleport.dev/deletion"
+	// AnnotationFlagIgnore is the Kubernetes annotation containing the "ignore" flag.
+	// When set to true, the operator will not reconcile the CR.
+	AnnotationFlagIgnore = "teleport.dev/ignore"
+	// AnnotationFlagKeep is the Kubernetes annotation containing the "keep" flag.
+	// When set to true, the operator will not delete the Teleport resource if the
+	// CR is deleted.
+	AnnotationFlagKeep = "teleport.dev/keep"
+)
 
 type DeleteExternal func(context.Context, kclient.Object) error
 type UpsertExternal func(context.Context, kclient.Object) error
@@ -79,15 +89,24 @@ func (r ResourceBaseReconciler) Do(ctx context.Context, req ctrl.Request, obj kc
 		return ctrl.Result{}, trace.Wrap(err)
 	}
 
+	if isIgnored(obj) {
+		log.Info(fmt.Sprintf("Resource is flagged with annotation %q, it will not be reconciled.", AnnotationFlagIgnore))
+		return ctrl.Result{}, nil
+	}
+
 	hasDeletionFinalizer := controllerutil.ContainsFinalizer(obj, DeletionFinalizer)
 	isMarkedToBeDeleted := !obj.GetDeletionTimestamp().IsZero()
 
 	// Delete
 	if isMarkedToBeDeleted {
 		if hasDeletionFinalizer {
-			log.Info("deleting object in Teleport")
-			if err := r.DeleteExternal(ctx, obj); err != nil && !trace.IsNotFound(err) {
-				return ctrl.Result{}, trace.Wrap(err)
+			if isKept(obj) {
+				log.Info(fmt.Sprintf("Resource is flagged with annotation %q, it will not be deleted in Teleport.", AnnotationFlagKeep))
+			} else {
+				log.Info("deleting object in Teleport")
+				if err := r.DeleteExternal(ctx, obj); err != nil && !trace.IsNotFound(err) {
+					return ctrl.Result{}, trace.Wrap(err)
+				}
 			}
 
 			log.Info("removing finalizer")
@@ -115,3 +134,13 @@ func (r ResourceBaseReconciler) Do(ctx context.Context, req ctrl.Request, obj kc
 	err := r.UpsertExternal(ctx, obj)
 	return ctrl.Result{}, trace.Wrap(err)
 }
+
+// isIgnored checks if the CR should be ignored
+func isIgnored(obj kclient.Object) bool {
+	return checkAnnotationFlag(obj, AnnotationFlagIgnore, false /* defaults to false */)
+}
+
+// isKept checks if the Teleport resource should be kept if the CR is deleted
+func isKept(obj kclient.Object) bool {
+	return checkAnnotationFlag(obj, AnnotationFlagKeep, false /* defaults to false */)
+}
diff --git a/integrations/operator/controllers/resources/utils.go b/integrations/operator/controllers/resources/utils.go
index c8327b0c40a87..32d48ece073f9 100644
--- a/integrations/operator/controllers/resources/utils.go
+++ b/integrations/operator/controllers/resources/utils.go
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ package resources
 import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
+	"strconv"
 
 	"github.com/gravitational/trace"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/meta"
@@ -169,3 +170,18 @@ func GetUnstructuredObjectFromGVK(gvk schema.GroupVersionKind) (*unstructured.Un
 	obj.SetGroupVersionKind(gvk)
 	return &obj, nil
 }
+
+// checkAnnotationFlag checks is the Kubernetes resource is annotated with a
+// flag and parses its value. Returns the default value if the flag is missing
+// or the annotation value cannot be parsed.
+func checkAnnotationFlag(object kclient.Object, flagName string, defaultValue bool) bool {
+	annotation, ok := object.GetAnnotations()[flagName]
+	if !ok {
+		return defaultValue
+	}
+	value, err := strconv.ParseBool(annotation)
+	if err != nil {
+		return defaultValue
+	}
+	return value
+}
diff --git a/integrations/operator/controllers/resources/utils_test.go b/integrations/operator/controllers/resources/utils_test.go
index 0c7c1a0b07852..d22ed80697712 100644
--- a/integrations/operator/controllers/resources/utils_test.go
+++ b/integrations/operator/controllers/resources/utils_test.go
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1/unstructured"
 
 	"github.com/gravitational/teleport/api/types"
 )
@@ -95,3 +96,71 @@ func TestCheckOwnership(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 }
+
+func TestCheckAnnotationFlag(t *testing.T) {
+	testFlag := "foo"
+	tests := []struct {
+		name           string
+		annotations    map[string]string
+		defaultValue   bool
+		expectedOutput bool
+	}{
+		{
+			name:           "flag set true, default true",
+			annotations:    map[string]string{testFlag: "true"},
+			defaultValue:   true,
+			expectedOutput: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:           "flag set false, default true",
+			annotations:    map[string]string{testFlag: "false"},
+			defaultValue:   true,
+			expectedOutput: false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:           "flag set true, default false",
+			annotations:    map[string]string{testFlag: "true"},
+			defaultValue:   false,
+			expectedOutput: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:           "flag set false, default false",
+			annotations:    map[string]string{testFlag: "false"},
+			defaultValue:   false,
+			expectedOutput: false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:           "flag missing, default true",
+			annotations:    map[string]string{},
+			defaultValue:   true,
+			expectedOutput: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:           "flag missing, default false",
+			annotations:    map[string]string{},
+			defaultValue:   false,
+			expectedOutput: false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:           "flag malformed, default true",
+			annotations:    map[string]string{testFlag: "malformed"},
+			defaultValue:   true,
+			expectedOutput: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:           "flag malformed, default false",
+			annotations:    map[string]string{testFlag: "malformed"},
+			defaultValue:   false,
+			expectedOutput: false,
+		},
+	}
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		tt := tt
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
+			obj := &unstructured.Unstructured{}
+			obj.SetAnnotations(tt.annotations)
+			require.Equal(t, tt.expectedOutput, checkAnnotationFlag(obj, testFlag, tt.defaultValue))
+		})
+	}
+}