Mary Anne Thompson. Pic: NZPA

Wellington, Sept 17 NZPA - Former Immigration Service boss Mary Anne Thompson was committed today for trial on fraud charges.

Thompson entered not guilty pleas in Wellington District Court to three charges of using a document for pecuniary advantage, after her lawyer conceded at a depositions hearing she had a case to answer.

Thompson claimed she held a PhD from the London School of Economics (LSE) -- credentials she used when applying for New Zealand public service jobs in 1989, 1998 and 2004.

In previous hearings, one witness from the LSE told the court Thompson's thesis seemed to have "disappeared into a black hole", while another said her doctorate application had been marked "treat as abandoned".

Thompson last year resigned from the senior position in the Labour Department after being accused of a conflict of interest for helping family members gain residency in New Zealand.

Earlier in the hearing, Crown solicitor Grant Burston said Thompson told police she believed "in her head" she had been awarded the degree.

However, she also acknowledged to police she had not been awarded either a Masters or a Doctorate degree, he said.

Mr Burston said Thompson had attended the institution, but had not met the requirements to be awarded the qualification.

Thompson's lawyer, Robert Lithgow QC, said his client was not aware she had to go to London for an oral exam to discuss her thesis with a panel of academics to complete her PhD.

Today Mr Lithgow conceded there was a case to answer.

The court accepted remaining written evidence from the case's 30 witnesses.

Thompson was remanded to reappear on December 1.