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Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Registrant Name dei_EntityRegistrantName GOLDMAN SACHS VARIABLE INSURANCE TRUST
Prospectus Date rr_ProspectusDate Apr. 27, 2012
Goldman Sachs Structured U.S. Equity Fund | Institutional Shares
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading Goldman Sachs Structured U.S. Equity Fund-Summary
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading Investment Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock The Goldman Sachs Structured U.S. Equity Fund (the “Fund”) seeks long-term growth of capital and dividend income.
Expense [Heading] rr_ExpenseHeading Fees and Expenses of the Fund
Expense Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold Institutional Shares of the Fund. This table does not reflect the fees and expenses associated with any variable annuity contract or variable life insurance policy that uses the Fund as an investment option. Had those fees and expenses been included, overall fees and expenses would be higher.
Operating Expenses Caption [Text] rr_OperatingExpensesCaption Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination April 27, 2013
Portfolio Turnover [Heading] rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block] rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities or instruments (i.e., “turns over” its portfolio). A high rate of portfolio turnover may result in increased transaction costs, including brokerage commissions, which must be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. These costs are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example above, but are reflected in the Fund’s performance. The Fund’s portfolio turnover rate for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011 was 51% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 51.00%
Expense Example [Heading] rr_ExpenseExampleHeading Expense Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. This Example does not reflect the fees and expenses associated with any variable annuity contract or variable life insurance policy that uses the Fund as an investment option. Had those fees and expenses been included, the costs shown below would be higher.

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in Institutional Shares of the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Institutional Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same (except that the Example incorporates the expense limitation arrangement for only the first year). Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading] rr_StrategyHeading Principal Strategy
Strategy Narrative [Text Block] rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

The Fund invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes (measured at time of purchase) (“Net Assets”) in a diversified portfolio of equity investments in U.S. issuers, including foreign companies that are traded in the United States.

The Fund uses a “structured” quantitative style of management that emphasizes fundamentally-based stock selection, careful portfolio construction and efficient implementation. The Fund’s investments are selected using both a variety of quantitative techniques and fundamental research, based on six investment themes: Valuation, Profitability, Quality, Management, Momentum and Sentiment. The Valuation theme attempts to capture potential mispricings of securities, typically by comparing a measure of the company’s intrinsic value to its market value. Profitability assesses whether the company is earning more than its cost of capital. Quality evaluates whether the company’s earnings are coming from more persistent, cash based sources, as opposed to accruals. Management assesses the characteristics, policies and strategic decisions of company management. Momentum seeks to predict drifts in stock prices caused by delayed investor reaction to company-specific information and information about related companies. Finally, the Sentiment theme reflects selected investment views and decisions of individuals and financial intermediaries.

The Fund maintains risk, style, and capitalization characteristics similar to the Standard & Poor’s 500® Index (the “S&P 500® Index”), which is an index of large-cap stocks designed to reflect a broad representation of the U.S. economy. As of April 2, 2012, the market capitalization range for the S&P 500® Index was between approximately $1 billion and $577 billion. The Fund seeks to maximize expected return while maintaining these and other characteristics similar to the benchmark. However, the Fund may invest in securities outside the S&P 500 capitalization range.

The Investment Adviser will not consider the portfolio turnover rate a limiting factor in managing the Fund, and the Fund’s investment style may result in frequent trading and relatively high portfolio turnover.

The Fund may also invest in fixed income securities that are considered to be cash equivalents.
Risk [Heading] rr_RiskHeading Principal Risks of the Fund
Risk Narrative [Text Block] rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

Loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) or any government agency. The Fund should not be relied upon as a complete investment program. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.

Investment Style Risk. Different investment styles (e.g., “growth,” “value” or “quantitative”) tend to shift in and out of favor depending upon market and economic conditions and investor sentiment. The Fund employs a “quantitative” style, and may outperform or underperform other funds that invest in similar asset classes but employ different investment styles.

Management Risk. A strategy used by the Investment Adviser may fail to produce the intended results. The Investment Adviser attempts to execute a complex strategy for the Fund using proprietary quantitative models. Investments selected using these models may perform differently than expected as a result of the factors used in the models, the weight placed on each factor, changes from the factors’ historical trends, and technical issues in the construction and implementation of the models (including, for example, data problems and/or software issues). There is no guarantee that the Investment Adviser’s use of these quantitative models will result in effective investment decisions for the Fund. Additionally, commonality of holdings across quantitative money managers may amplify losses.

Market Risk. The value of the instruments in which the Fund invests may go up or down in response to the prospects of individual companies, particular sectors or governments and/or general economic conditions.

Portfolio Turnover Rate Risk. A high rate of portfolio turnover (100% or more) involves correspondingly greater expenses which must be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.

Stock Risk. Stock prices have historically risen and fallen in periodic cycles. U.S. and foreign stock markets have experienced periods of substantial price volatility in the past and may do so again in the future.
Risk Lose Money [Text] rr_RiskLoseMoney Loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund.
Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text] rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) or any government agency.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading] rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block] rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock The bar chart and table below provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing: (a) changes in the performance of the Fund’s Institutional Shares from year to year; and (b) how the average annual total returns of the Fund’s Institutional Shares compare to those of a broad-based securities market index. The Fund’s past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Performance reflects expense limitations in effect. In addition, performance reflects Fund level expenses but does not reflect the fees and expenses associated with any variable annuity contract or variable life insurance policy that uses the Fund as an investment option for any contract or policy. Had performance reflected all of those fees and expenses, performance would have been reduced. Updated performance information is available at no cost at www.goldmansachsfunds.com/vit or by calling the phone number on the back cover of this Prospectus.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text] rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns The bar chart and table below provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing: (a) changes in the performance of the Fund’s Institutional Shares from year to year; and (b) how the average annual total returns of the Fund’s Institutional Shares compare to those of a broad-based securities market index.
Performance Availability Website Address [Text] rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress www.goldmansachsfunds.com/vit
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text] rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture The Fund’s past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading] rr_BarChartHeading TOTAL RETURN CALENDAR YEAR
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block] rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock Best Quarter
Q3 ’09   +14.43%
Worst Quarter
Q4 ’08    –20.96%
Performance Table Heading rr_PerformanceTableHeading AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN
For the period ended December 31, 2011
Goldman Sachs Structured U.S. Equity Fund | Institutional Shares | Institutional Shares
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Management Fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.62%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.08%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.70%
Expense Limitation rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.06%) [1]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.64% [2]
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 66
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 219
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 386
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 870
2002 rr_AnnualReturn2002 (21.89%)
2003 rr_AnnualReturn2003 29.47%
2004 rr_AnnualReturn2004 14.90%
2005 rr_AnnualReturn2005 6.51%
2006 rr_AnnualReturn2006 12.89%
2007 rr_AnnualReturn2007 (1.63%)
2008 rr_AnnualReturn2008 (36.92%)
2009 rr_AnnualReturn2009 21.15%
2010 rr_AnnualReturn2010 12.84%
2011 rr_AnnualReturn2011 4.05%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel Best Quarter
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Sep. 30, 2009
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 14.43%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel Worst Quarter
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Dec. 31, 2008
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (20.96%)
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 4.05%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 (2.49%)
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 2.11%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 2.44%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Feb. 13, 1998
Goldman Sachs Structured U.S. Equity Fund | Institutional Shares | S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 2.11%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 (0.25%)
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 2.92%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 3.31%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Feb. 13, 1998
[1] The Investment Adviser has agreed to reduce or limit "Other Expenses" (excluding acquired fund fees and expenses, transfer agency fees and expenses, taxes, interest, brokerage fees, litigation, indemnification, shareholder meeting and other extraordinary expenses) equal on an annualized basis to 0.004% of the Fund's average daily net assets through at least April 27, 2013, and prior to such date the Investment Adviser may not terminate the arrangement without the approval of the Board of Trustees. The Fund's "Other Expenses" may be further reduced by any custody and transfer agency fee credits received by the Fund.
[2] Expense Limitation