Even if you are not ready right now to submit an application, now is always a good time to find out what you can do to srengthen your future application and be ready.
Visa applications under partnership categories that fail, do so because even though applicants do infact meet the legal criteria, many people are not sure how to clearly prove so, and INZ tend to use this as leverage to decline the visa. It is not enough to just be in a genuine relationship, you have to prove and convince the immigration officer that you are.
Now is the time to look at the evidence that you are compliling and think about what you are lacking, if the documents you have actually prove your relationship or are just merely pieces of paper. Do you need to start collecting more, what can you do to collect genuine and useful documents? These are all things that you can think about more.
One of the big things for many people is English, and it can take time to improve your English score. starting early may be just the opportunity you need to make an impossible seeming application possible. Other ways for residence applicants are to look at the quality of your supporting documentation. A residence application requires a much higher degree of proof than a work visa application, so this may be a good time to contact people and see if you can get stronger documents for this.
Are you mainting a good relationship with your employer? It might be helpful to show just how valuable you are in keeping the business going. Be a little flexible with your employer's requests, but make sure than any changes you agree to are still within the bounds of NZ employment law and immigration law. You cannot agree to change your job or job location without adjusting your visa conditions for this. You also can't agree to be paid less than market rate and definitely not less than minimum wage. Some changes will need a new visa, but if this is good for everyone, then perhaps applying for new visa would be a good way to move forward together.
use the time away from school to improve your English or subject knowledge. With less time needed for commuting, this gives your more time available to study. if your classes are still run online, spend some time reviewing your lessons, etc. If you are studying so that you can work later through post study work instructions, it may be useful to put some more time in investigating future work pathways as well.
"Overall, remember that the only way to actually enhance your chances of success are to make informed decisions and not act randomly. Acting without professional advice can mean that your result comes down to luck. If you don't really know how to plan your visa pathway, then be sure to as a professional".