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Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Registrant Name dei_EntityRegistrantName GOLDMAN SACHS VARIABLE INSURANCE TRUST
Prospectus Date rr_ProspectusDate Apr. 30, 2014
Institutional | Goldman Sachs Core Fixed Income Fund
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading Goldman Sachs Core Fixed Income Fund—Summary
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading Investment Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock The Goldman Sachs Core Fixed Income Fund (the “Fund”) seeks a total return consisting of capital appreciation and income that exceeds the total return of the Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (the “Index”).
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 30, 2015
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, 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, 2013 was 557% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 557.00%
Other Expenses, New Fund, Based on Estimates [Text] rr_OtherExpensesNewFundBasedOnEstimates The Fund’s “Other Expenses” are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.
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 the time of purchase) (“Net Assets”) in fixed income securities, including securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises (“U.S. Government Securities”), corporate debt securities, privately issued adjustable rate and fixed rate mortgage loans or other mortgage-related securities (“Mortgage-Backed Securities”) and asset-backed securities. The Fund may also invest in custodial receipts, fixed income securities issued by or on behalf of states, territories, and possessions of the United States (including the District of Columbia) (“Municipal Securities”) and convertible securities.

The Fund may also engage in forward foreign currency transactions for both investment and hedging purposes. The Fund also intends to invest in derivatives, including (but not limited to) interest rate futures, interest rate swaps and credit default swaps, which are used primarily to hedge the Fund’s portfolio risks, manage the Fund’s duration and/or gain exposure to certain fixed income securities or indices.

The Fund’s investments in non-U.S. dollar denominated obligations (hedged or unhedged against currency risk) will not exceed 25% of its total assets (not including securities lending collateral and any investment of that collateral) measured at the time of purchase (“Total Assets”), and 10% of the Fund’s Total Assets may be invested in sovereign and corporate debt securities and other instruments of issuers in emerging market countries (“emerging countries debt”). Additionally, exposure to non-U.S. currencies (unhedged against currency risk) will not exceed 25% of the Fund’s Total Assets. In pursuing its investment objective, the Fund uses the Index as its performance benchmark, but the Fund will not attempt to replicate the Index. The Fund may, therefore, invest in securities that are not included in the Index.

The Fund may invest in fixed income securities rated at least BBB– or Baa3 at the time of purchase. Securities will either be rated by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (“NRSRO”) or, if unrated, determined by the Investment Adviser to be of comparable credit quality.

The Fund’s target duration range under normal interest rate conditions is expected to approximate that of the Index plus or minus one year, and over the ten years ended February 28, 2014, the duration of the Index has ranged between 3.71 and 5.59 years. “Duration” is a measure of a debt security’s price sensitivity to changes in interest rates. The longer the duration of the Fund (or an individual debt security), the more sensitive its market price to changes in interest rates. For example, if market interest rates increase by 1%, the market price of a debt security with a positive duration of 3 will generally decrease by approximately 3%. Conversely, a 1% decline in market interest rates will generally result in an increase of approximately 3% of that security’s market price.

The Fund’s benchmark index is the Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index.
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 (“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 in the Fund involves substantial risks which prospective investors should consider carefully before investing.

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

Derivatives Risk.  Loss may result from the Fund’s investments in forwards, interest rate futures, interest rate swaps, credit default swaps and other derivative instruments. These instruments may be illiquid, difficult to price and leveraged so that small changes in the value of underlying instruments 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.

Foreign and Emerging Countries Risk.  Foreign securities may be subject to risk of loss because of more or less foreign government regulation, less public information and less economic, political and social stability in the countries in which the Fund invests. Loss may also result from the imposition of exchange controls, confiscations and other government restrictions by the United States or other governments, or from problems in registration, settlement or custody. Foreign risk also involves the risk of negative foreign currency rate fluctuations, which may cause the value of securities denominated in such foreign currency (or other instruments through which the Fund has exposure to foreign currencies) to decline in value. Currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time. To the extent that the Fund also invests in securities of issuers located in emerging markets, these risks may be more pronounced.

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

Mortgage-Backed and Other Asset-Backed Securities 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. Asset-backed securities may not have the benefit of a security interest in collateral comparable to that of mortgage assets, resulting in additional credit risk.

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 are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. 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 issuers of U.S. Government Securities 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 (“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 applicable fee waivers and/or expense limitations in effect during the periods shown. 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.gsamfunds.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.gsamfunds.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
(Service Shares)
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block] rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock (Service Shares)

Best Quarter
Q3 ‘09            +8.08

Worst Quarter
Q3 ‘08            –4.49		  

* Because Institutional Shares have not had returns for a full calendar year as of the date of this Prospectus, the figures shown above provide performance for Service Shares of the Fund (which are not offered in this Prospectus); Institutional Shares would have similar returns (because these share classes represent interests in the same portfolio of securities) that would differ only to the extent that they have different expenses.
Bar Chart, Returns for Class Not Offered in Prospectus [Text] rr_BarChartReturnsForClassNotOfferedInProspectus Because Institutional Shares have not had returns for a full calendar year as of the date of this Prospectus, the figures shown above provide performance for Service Shares of the Fund (which are not offered in this Prospectus); Institutional Shares would have similar returns (because these share classes represent interests in the same portfolio of securities) that would differ only to the extent that they have different expenses.
Performance Table Heading rr_PerformanceTableHeading AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN

For the period ended December 31, 2013
Institutional | Goldman Sachs Core Fixed Income Fund | Institutional Shares
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Management Fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.40%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.25% [1]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.65%
Expense Limitation rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.22%) [2]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.43% [3]
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 44
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 186
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 340
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 790
Institutional | Goldman Sachs Core Fixed Income Fund | Service Shares
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
2007 rr_AnnualReturn2007 6.81% [4]
2008 rr_AnnualReturn2008 (8.56%) [4]
2009 rr_AnnualReturn2009 14.68% [4]
2010 rr_AnnualReturn2010 7.18% [4]
2011 rr_AnnualReturn2011 6.96% [4]
2012 rr_AnnualReturn2012 6.70% [4]
2013 rr_AnnualReturn2013 (1.35%) [4]
Highest Quarterly Return, Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel Best Quarter
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Sep. 30, 2009
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 8.08%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel Worst Quarter
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Sep. 30, 2008
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (4.49%)
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (1.35%) [4]
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 6.71% [4]
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 4.36% [4]
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Jan. 09, 2006 [4]
Institutional | Goldman Sachs Core Fixed Income Fund | Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (2.02%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 4.44%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 4.81%
[1] The Fund's "Other Expenses" are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.
[2] 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, shareholder meeting, litigation, indemnification and extraordinary expenses) equal on an annualized basis to 0.004% of the Fund's average daily net assets through at least April 30, 2015, and prior to such date the Investment Adviser may not terminate the arrangement without the approval of the Board of Trustees.
[3] After Expense Limitation
[4] Because Institutional Shares have not had returns for a full calendar year as of the date of this Prospectus, the figures shown above provide performance for Service Shares of the Fund (which are not offered in this Prospectus); Institutional Shares would have similar returns (because these share classes represent interests in the same portfolio of securities) that would differ only to the extent that they have different expenses.