OTTAWA–The days of chasing a doctor or accountant to sign your passport application will soon be over. Come this fall, you could just have your wife, husband or older child sign it for you.In a bid to speed the processing of passport applications and reduce a backlog, the federal government is easing the requirements for getting the travel documents.

Soon to be gone is the burdensome demand that a “professional” attest to your identity on your application for a passport renewal.

And if you’re applying for a passport for the first time, you’ll be able to get another passport holder to sign it for you.

“The volume (of applications) has been substantially increased, and we had to respond to that,” Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay told reporters at an Ottawa passport office yesterday as he unveiled the changes.

Passport Canada is processing 20,000 passports a day after being swamped with applications from Canadians trying to meet the U.S. demand for passports for cross-border trips.

The office has been able to reduce the waiting time to two weeks for applications made in person. But people who mail their passport requests still face a backlog of 170,000 applications and a 10-week wait.

But officials said the coming changes would streamline the process and cut waiting times. Under the changes announced yesterday:

Canadians who hold a valid passport, and who are eligible, will be able to renew it without submitting proof of citizenship or a guarantor declaration.

Most Canadian adult passport holders will be able to act as guarantors for first-time applicants.

To be a guarantor, a person must hold a five-year Canadian passport that is either valid or expired for less than a year, be at least 18 and have known the applicant for at least two years.

The department intends to hold “passport clinics” across the country with emphasis on border areas where officials will answer questions and review applications to ensure the paperwork is in order.

Under the “simplified” renewal program that kicks in Aug. 15, eligible Canadians will be able to use a shorter form, two new photos, the fee and their last passport.

Gone are the requirements to submit proof of citizenship, other identification and a guarantor’s declaration. But to take advantage of the new procedures, Canadians must be living in Canada at the time they make their application as well as at the time of their previous application. And they must have been at least 16 years old when they received their previous passport.

As well, their previous passport must have been valid for five years, issued after Jan. 31, 2002; never damaged or reported as lost or stolen; and issued under their current name. The new guarantor provision will take effect on Oct. 1.

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With files from Reuters