Questions about BTO Application

My partner has just graduated from university while I have been working for about 2 years. We are looking to apply for a 4-room BTO this year and were doing our research, however we were very confused by certain points.

1. Since my partner would most likely not be employed at the point of application, does he still need to apply for a HLE?
2. When does HDB assess your household income for the EHG? Is it after you are allocated a queue number, or during your 1st/2nd appointment?
3. When exactly does HDB determine your eligibility for a HDB loan? Our worry is that if he is still not employed at the point that they do their assessment, then our household income would be pretty low, and we would have to pay a monthly mortgage higher than the MSR i.e. would be deemed ineligible for the loan.

Thank you for your help!