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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 Government Income Fund | Service Shares
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading Goldman Sachs Government Income Fund-Summary
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading Investment Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock The Goldman Sachs Government Income Fund (the “Fund”) seeks a high level of current income, consistent with safety of principal.
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 Service 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 960% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 960.00%
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 Service Shares of the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Service 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 the time of purchase) (“Net Assets”) in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises (“U.S. Government Securities”) and in repurchase agreements collateralized by such securities. The remainder of the Fund’s Net Assets may be invested in non-government securities such as privately issued adjustable rate and fixed rate mortgage loans or other mortgage-related securities (“Mortgage-Backed Securities”), asset-backed securities and corporate securities. 100% of the Fund’s portfolio will be invested in U.S. dollar-denominated securities.

The Fund’s investments in non-U.S. Government Securities must be rated AAA or Aaa by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (“NRSRO”) at the time of purchase, or, if unrated, must be determined by the Investment Adviser to be of comparable quality. The Fund’s target duration is that of the Barclays Capital Government/Mortgage Index, plus or minus one year (the Fund’s duration approximates its price sensitivity to changes in interest rates), and over the past seven years ended February 29, 2012, the duration of this index has ranged between 2.52 and 4.63 years.

Goldman Sachs’ Fixed Income Investing Philosophy:

Global fixed income markets are constantly evolving and are highly diverse—with myriad countries, currencies, sectors, issuers and securities. We believe that inefficiencies in these complex markets cause bond prices to diverge from their fair value. To capitalize on these inefficiencies and generate consistent risk-adjusted performance, we believe it is critical to:

  • Thoughtfully combine diversified sources of return by employing multiple strategies
  • Take a global perspective to uncover relative value opportunities
  • Employ focused specialist teams to identify short-term mis-pricings and incorporate long-term views
  • Emphasize a risk-aware approach as we view risk management as both an offensive and defensive tool
  • Build a strong team of skilled investors who excel on behalf of our clients
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.

Credit/Default Risk. An issuer or guarantor of fixed income securities held by the Fund may default on its obligation to pay interest, repay principal or make a margin payment. Additionally, the credit quality of securities may deteriorate rapidly, which may impair the Fund’s liquidity and cause significant net asset value (“NAV”) deterioration.

Derivatives Risk. Loss may result from the Fund’s investments in options, futures, forwards, swaps, options on swaps, structured securities and other derivative instruments. These instruments may be illiquid, difficult to price and leveraged so that small changes may produce disproportionate losses to the Fund. Derivatives are also subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the other party in the transaction will not fulfill its contractual obligation.

Interest Rate Risk. When interest rates increase, fixed income securities held by the Fund will generally decline in value. Long-term fixed income securities will normally have more price volatility because of this risk than short-term fixed income securities.

Mortgage-Backed and Other Asset-Backed Risk. Mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities are subject to certain additional risks, including “extension risk” (i.e., in periods of rising interest rates, issuers may pay principal later than expected) and “prepayment risk” (i.e., in periods of declining interest rates, issuers may pay principal more quickly than expected, causing the Fund to reinvest proceeds at lower prevailing interest rates). Mortgage-Backed Securities offered by non-governmental issuers are subject to other risks as well, including failures of private insurers to meet their obligations and unexpectedly high rates of default on the mortgages backing the securities. Other asset-backed securities are subject to risks similar to those associated with Mortgage-Backed Securities, as well as risks associated with the nature and servicing of the assets backing the securities.

U.S. Government Securities Risk. The U.S. government may not provide financial support to U.S. government agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises if it is not obligated to do so by law. U.S. Government Securities issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”), Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”) and the Federal Home Loan Banks chartered or sponsored by Acts of Congress are neither issued nor guaranteed by the United States Treasury and, therefore, are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. The maximum potential liability of the issuers of some U.S. Government Securities held by the Fund may greatly exceed their current resources, including their legal right to support from the U.S. Treasury. It is possible that these issuers will not have the funds to meet their payment obligations 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 Service Shares from year to year; and (b) how the average annual total returns of the Fund’s Service 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 Service Shares from year to year; and (b) how the average annual total returns of the Fund’s Service 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   +4.07%
Worst Quarter
Q4 ’10    –1.25%
Performance Table Heading rr_PerformanceTableHeading AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN
For the period ended December 31, 2011
Goldman Sachs Government Income Fund | Service Shares | Service Shares
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Management Fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.54%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 0.25%
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.34%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 1.13%
Expense Limitation rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.32%) [1]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.81% [2]
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 83
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 327
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 591
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 1,346
2007 rr_AnnualReturn2007 7.34%
2008 rr_AnnualReturn2008 3.14%
2009 rr_AnnualReturn2009 6.44%
2010 rr_AnnualReturn2010 5.19%
2011 rr_AnnualReturn2011 6.35%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel Best Quarter
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Sep. 30, 2009
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 4.07%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel Worst Quarter
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Dec. 31, 2010
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (1.25%)
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 6.35%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 5.68%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 5.40%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Jan. 09, 2006
Goldman Sachs Government Income Fund | Service Shares | Barclays Capital Government/Mortgage Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 7.74%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 6.56%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 6.16%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Jan. 09, 2006
[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