diff --git a/lib/Runtime.js b/lib/Runtime.js
index bf8449b00..e4239010f 100644
--- a/lib/Runtime.js
+++ b/lib/Runtime.js
@@ -106,7 +106,8 @@ module.exports = function(S) {
       let packageRoot = handlerFullPath.replace(func.handler, '');
 
       return fse.copyAsync(packageRoot, pathDist, {
-        filter: this._processExcludePatterns(func, pathDist, stage, region)
+        filter: this._processExcludePatterns(func, pathDist, stage, region),
+        dereference: true
       });
     }