Cláudia Pereira holds a doctoral degree in Anthropology and has completed postdoctoral research in Sociology. She is Research Fellow and Professor at Iscte – University Institute of Lisbon, and is affiliated with the Centre for Research and Studies in Sociology (CIES-Iscte). Her career has focused on the intersection of research, teaching, and public policy.

She is the scientific coordinator of the Emigration Observatory (OEm), an entity responsible for statistical research on Portuguese emigration to all countries. Among other activities, the OEm team prepares the Portuguese Emigration Statistical Report, which is produced annually for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and presented to the Assembly of the Republic.

Recently, Cláudia Pereira became co-scientific coordinator of the Erasmus Mundus International Master’s in Coordinated Humanitarian Response, Health and Displacement (HumanResponse), funded by the European Commission. This international programme is delivered by a consortium of seven universities across Europe and Africa – ISCTE, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Makerere University, University of Cape Verde (UniCV), University of Santiago (US), University of Athens (UAthens), and University of Rovuma (URovuma) – and involves 23 associated partners from Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East. HumanResponse offers a multidisciplinary curriculum on humanitarian assistance and displacement in volatile contexts, combining theoretical instruction with practical training. The programme includes mandatory international mobility for students, fostering strong links between academic knowledge and field practice. It promotes South-North collaboration and professionalises the humanitarian sector, preparing graduates to address complex challenges through cross-cultural engagement and research that advances the field.

Previously she did the Erasmus programme during her undergraduate degree at Vrije Universiteit in the Netherlands and was a Visiting Scholar during her PhD at Brown University in the USA. Claudia was the co-coordinator for the international Master’s degree Erasmus Mundus in Social Work with Family and Children and a guest lecturer at the partner universities, i.e., the University of Gothenburg, the University of Makerere and the University of Stavanger.

Cláudia carried out ethnographic research in India, among Catholic Goans and Hindus, and in England, among Portuguese nurses in London. This research resulted in articles and books, including, Religious dances and tourism: perceptions of the “tribal” as the repository of the traditional in Goa, India, and in Springer/IMISCOE, New and Old Routes of Portuguese Emigration. Uncertain Futures at the Periphery of Europe. 

She is an expert on migration on capacity-building projects for governments of countries outside the European Union, such as Jordan and Togo, through the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), European Commission (EC). She is an evaluator of European applications, COST and Marie Curie. 

She participates in research-action, migration and humanitarian action projects, with international and national funding. One of the projects she coordinated focused on Nepalese immigration and recruitment in agriculture, ‘If you don't migrate, you're a nobody’: Migration recruitment networks and experiences of Nepalese farm workers in Portugal".

At the governmental level, she was the Secretary of State for Integration and Migration, at the 22nd Constitutional Government. In coordination with governmental teams and public institutes, she led the removal of barriers in Portuguese language learning courses, creating the regulation for Portuguese as a Host Language courses the Regulation for the courses of Portuguese Host Language. For the first time, foreigners and asylum seekers awaiting the documentation were able to learn Portuguese. She created the Integrating Adds Value Network, involving over 50 municipalities, to strengthen coordination between public administration and municipal councils in integration policies. She promoted interdepartmental cooperation within government and public administration for the implementation of the Global Compact for Migration, in which Portugal was recognised as a "Champion Country" by UN-OIM. She also contributed to the Law of the Citizen Card for People with no Fixed Address in Portugal, for homeless people and nomadic Portuguese Roma, thereby facilitating access to health care, housing, training and employment, i.e. to equal opportunities. In the area of refugees implemented the Single Operational Group to ensure coordination among state entities, and coordinated the task force for the country’s first humanitarian emergency the reception and integration of refugees from Afghanistan and later from Ukraine.

She co-coordinates the Thematic Line “Global Governance” and is an executive member of the SocioDigital Lab for Public Policy Associate Laboratory.

She is also the coordinator of the Academia + Integração (A+I), a joint initiative of the Fundão City Council, the University of Beira Interior, and IPPS-Iscte. This academy provides specialised training for public administration on migration and integration, aiming to build the capacity of professionals and managers in public bodies and local authorities, foster networking, and develop skills for a more effective response to the challenges of immigrant integration in Portugal.