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Registrant Name dei_EntityRegistrantName GOLDMAN SACHS VARIABLE INSURANCE TRUST
Prospectus Date rr_ProspectusDate Apr. 30, 2014
Service | Goldman Sachs Global Markets Navigator Fund
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading Goldman Sachs Global Markets Navigator Fund—Summary
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading Investment Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock The Goldman Sachs Global Markets Navigator Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to achieve investment results that approximate the performance of the GS Global Markets Navigator IndexTM (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 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 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, 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, 2013 was 195% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 195.00%
Expenses Not Correlated to Ratio Due to Acquired Fund Fees [Text] rr_ExpensesNotCorrelatedToRatioDueToAcquiredFundFees The “Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses” do not correlate to the ratios of net and total expenses to average net assets provided in the Financial Highlights, which reflect the operating expenses of the Fund and do not include Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.
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 fee waiver and expense limitation arrangements 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 seeks to achieve investment results that approximate the performance of the GS Global Markets Navigator IndexTM. The Index is comprised of, and allocates exposure to, a set of underlying indices representing various global asset classes including, but not limited to, global equity and global fixed income (the “Underlying Indices”). Using a proprietary methodology (the “Methodology”) developed by Goldman, Sachs & Co. (the “Index Provider”), the Index seeks to provide exposure to price momentum of these global assets, or Underlying Indices, by reflecting a combination of index weightings that is determined in part by the historical returns of these global assets over various predetermined time periods. Momentum investing seeks growth of capital by investing in assets that have exhibited trends in price performance over recent selected time periods. The Methodology also considers maximum and minimum weightings requirements and volatility controls. The Index is generally rebalanced monthly but may be rebalanced as frequently as daily if certain volatility controls are triggered. The Index Provider may, in its discretion, make changes to the Index, its methodology or quantitative techniques, or use other methodologies or quantitative techniques that are based on the Index Provider’s proprietary research. The Index is sponsored by the Index Provider, an affiliate of the Fund’s Investment Adviser, and calculated by Solactive AG (the “Calculation Agent”).

Given the Fund’s objective of attempting to track the Index, the Fund does not follow traditional methods of active investment management, which may involve buying and selling securities based upon analysis of economic and market factors. Instead, the Fund will invest in securities and other financial instruments that provide exposure to the Underlying Indices in approximately the same weighting that such Underlying Indices have within the Index at the applicable time. The Investment Adviser will, however, be responsible for, among other things, investment selection, timing of trading and counterparty selection.

The Fund’s portfolio of investments may include, among other instruments, futures (including index futures), swaps, structured notes, other derivatives and investment companies (including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”)) that provide exposure to a broad spectrum of asset classes, including but not limited to, equities (U.S. and non-U.S. companies) and high quality fixed income (U.S. and non-U.S. developed country government and government agency securities). The Fund may also invest directly in equity securities and U.S. and non-U.S. developed country government and government agency fixed income securities. The percentage of the portfolio exposed to any asset class or geographic region will vary from time to time as the weightings of the Underlying Indices within the Index change, and the Fund may not be invested in each asset class at all times. Moreover, the Fund may at times be more heavily invested in certain asset classes, such as U.S. equity or U.S. fixed income. As a result of the Fund’s use of derivatives, and/or in an effort to mitigate portfolio volatility, the Fund may also hold significant amounts of U.S. Treasury, short-term, or other fixed income investments, including money market funds and repurchase agreements or cash, and at times may invest up to 100% of its assets in such investments. The Fund may also engage in foreign currency transactions (including forward contracts) for hedging purposes or to seek to increase total return. To the extent the Index allocates exposure to commodity-related Underlying Indices in the future, the Fund may invest in instruments that provide exposure to commodities. Although it does not currently intend to do so, the Fund may also invest through a wholly-owned subsidiary, which would be advised by the Investment Adviser and would seek to gain commodities exposure.

The Fund will not invest more than 25% of the value of its total assets in the securities of one or more issuers conducting their principal business activities in the same industry, except that, to the extent that an industry represents 20% or more of the Fund’s index (currently the Index) at the time of investment, the Fund may invest up to 35% of its assets in that industry.

THE FUND IS NON-DIVERSIFIED UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940, AS AMENDED (“INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT”), AND MAY INVEST A LARGER PERCENTAGE OF ITS ASSETS IN FEWER ISSUERS THAN DIVERSIFIED MUTUAL FUNDS.

The Fund’s benchmark index is the GS Global Markets Navigator 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 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 in the Fund involves substantial risks which prospective investors should consider carefully before investing.

Absence of Regulation.  The Fund engages in over-the-counter (“OTC”) transactions, which trade in a dealer network, rather than on an exchange. In general, there is less governmental regulation and supervision of transactions in the OTC markets than of transactions entered into on organized exchanges.

Credit/Default Risk.  An issuer or guarantor of fixed income securities or instruments held by the Fund (which may have low credit ratings) 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”). To the extent that the Fund invests in non-investment grade fixed income securities, these risks will be more pronounced.

Derivatives Risk.  Loss may result from the Fund’s investments in forwards, futures, swaps, structured securities 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 issuers located in emerging markets, these risks may be more pronounced.

Geographic Risk.  Concentration of the investments of the Fund in issuers located in a particular country or region will subject the Fund, to a greater extent than if investments were less concentrated, to the risks of adverse securities markets, exchange rates and social, political, regulatory or economic events which may occur in that country or region.

Index/Methodology Risk.  The Index Provider relies on third party data and a Methodology it believes to be reliable in constructing the Index, but it does not guarantee the accuracy of such third party data or the Methodology. There can be no assurance that the Methodology will correctly forecast the risk of particular instruments or asset classes or make effective tactical decisions. The Methodology may direct the Index’s allocations to an instrument or asset class that underperforms other instruments or asset classes. The Methodology may not achieve its goals of mitigating volatility and modulating risk. If the Index’s daily volatility control is triggered, the Methodology may reallocate the Index into lower-risk assets, such as cash. By seeking to track the Index when the daily volatility control is triggered, the Fund may underperform in comparison to the general securities markets and/or other asset classes. The Index is new and has a limited performance history. Any new index is subject to errors in its construction.

Industry Concentration Risk.  The Fund will not invest more than 25% of the value of its total assets in the securities of one or more issuers conducting their principal business activities in the same industry, except that, to the extent that an industry represents 20% or more of the Fund’s index (currently the Index) at the time of investment, the Fund may invest up to 35% of its assets in that industry. Concentrating Fund investments in issuers conducting business in the same industry will subject the Fund to a greater risk of loss as a result of adverse economic, business or other developments affecting that industry than if its investments were not so concentrated.

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 will normally have more price volatility because of this risk than short-term fixed income securities or instruments.

Investment Style Risk.  The Index is intended to provide exposure to price momentum of certain U.S., international, developed and emerging equity markets, commodity markets, real estate markets and fixed income assets, and as a result the Index may be more volatile than a more broadly based conventional index. The momentum-based investment style employed by the Fund may fall out of favor from time to time, depending upon market and economic conditions as well as investor sentiment. The Fund may outperform or underperform other funds that invest in similar asset classes but employ different investment styles.

Leverage Risk.  The use of derivatives may result in leverage, which can magnify the effects of changes in the value of the Fund’s investments and make it more volatile. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions to satisfy its obligations or to meet asset segregation requirements when it may not be advantageous to do so. The use of leverage by the Fund can substantially increase the adverse impact to which the Fund’s investment portfolio may be subject.

Liquidity Risk.  The Fund may make investments that may be illiquid or that may become less liquid in response to market developments or adverse investor perceptions. Illiquid investments may be more difficult to value. Liquidity risk may also refer to the risk that the Fund will not be able to pay redemption proceeds within the allowable time period because of unusual market conditions, an unusually high volume of redemption requests or other reasons. To meet redemption requests, the Fund may be forced to sell securities, at an unfavorable time and/or under unfavorable conditions. Liquidity risk may be the result of, among other things, the reduced number and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market in fixed income securities or the lack of an active market. The potential for liquidity risk may be magnified by a rising interest rate environment or other circumstances where investor redemptions from fixed income mutual funds may be higher than normal, potentially causing increased supply in the market due to selling activity.

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 throughout the world due to increasingly interconnected global economies and financial markets.

Mid-Cap and Small-Cap Risk.  Investments in mid-capitalization and small-capitalization companies involve greater risks than those associated with larger, more established companies. These securities may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements and may lack sufficient market liquidity, and these issuers often face greater business risks.

NAV Risk.  The net asset value (“NAV”) of the Fund and the value of your investment may fluctuate.

Non-Diversification Risk.  The Fund is non-diversified, meaning that it is permitted to invest a larger percentage of its assets in fewer issuers than a diversified mutual fund. Thus, the Fund may be more susceptible to adverse developments affecting any single issuer held in its portfolio, and may be more susceptible to greater losses because of these developments.

Pooled Investments Risk.  By investing in pooled investment vehicles (including investment companies and ETFs), partnerships and REITs indirectly through the Fund, investors will incur a proportionate share of the expenses of the other pooled investment vehicles, partnerships and REITs held by the Fund (including operating costs and investment management fees), in addition to the fees and expenses regularly borne by the Fund. In addition, the Fund will be affected by the investment policies, practices and performance of such investments in direct proportion to the amount of assets the Fund invests therein.

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.

Sovereign Default Risk.  An issuer of non-U.S. sovereign debt, such as Germany or Japan, or the governmental authorities that control the repayment of the debt, may be unable or unwilling to repay the principal or interest when due. This may result from political or social factors, the general economic environment of a country, levels of foreign debt or foreign currency exchange rates.

Swaps Risk.  In a standard “swap” transaction, two parties agree to exchange the returns, differentials in rates of return or some other amount earned or realized on the “notional amount” of predetermined investments or instruments, which may be adjusted for an interest factor. Swaps can involve greater risks than direct investment in securities, because swaps may be leveraged and are subject to counterparty risk (e.g., the risk of a counterparty’s defaulting on the obligation or bankruptcy), credit risk and pricing risk (i.e., swaps may be difficult to value). Swaps may also be considered illiquid. It may not be possible for the Fund to liquidate a swap position at an advantageous time or price, which may result in significant losses.

Tracking Error Risk.  The Fund’s portfolio composition and performance may not match, and may vary substantially from, that of the Index for any period of time, in part because there may be a delay in the Fund’s implementation of any changes to the composition of the Index. Unlike the Fund, the returns of the Index are not reduced by investment and other operating expenses, including the trading costs associated with implementing changes to its portfolio of investments.

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 any 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 Nondiversified Status [Text] rr_RiskNondiversifiedStatus Non-Diversification Risk.  The Fund is non-diversified, meaning that it is permitted to invest a larger percentage of its assets in fewer issuers than a diversified mutual fund. Thus, the Fund may be more susceptible to adverse developments affecting any single issuer held in its portfolio, and may be more susceptible to greater losses because of these developments.
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) the performance of the Fund’s Service Shares for its first full calendar year of operations; 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) the performance of the Fund’s Service Shares for its first full calendar year of operations; 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
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block] rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock
Best Quarter
Q1 ‘13            4.92%

Worst Quarter
Q2 ‘13            1.38%
Performance Table Heading rr_PerformanceTableHeading AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN

For the period ended December 31, 2013
Service | Goldman Sachs Global Markets Navigator Fund | Service Shares
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Management Fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.79%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 0.25%
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.47%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets 0.05%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 1.56% [1]
Fee Waiver and Expense Limitation rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.47%) [2]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 1.09% [1],[3]
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 111
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 447
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 806
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 1,817
2013 rr_AnnualReturn2013 13.57%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel Best Quarter
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Mar. 31, 2013
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 4.92%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel Worst Quarter
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Jun. 30, 2013
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn 1.38%
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 13.57%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 10.05%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Apr. 16, 2012
Service | Goldman Sachs Global Markets Navigator Fund | Goldman Sachs Global Markets Navigator Index
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 16.34%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 12.31%
Service | Goldman Sachs Global Markets Navigator Fund | S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 32.39%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 21.79%
Service | Goldman Sachs Global Markets Navigator 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%)
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 0.52%
[1] The "Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses" do not correlate to the ratios of net and total expenses to average net assets provided in the Financial Highlights, which reflect the operating expenses of the Fund and do not include Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.
[2] The Investment Adviser has agreed to (i) 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) to 0.004% of the Fund's average daily net assets and (ii) waive a portion of its management fee payable by the Fund in an amount equal to any management fees it earns as an investment adviser to any of the affiliated funds in which the Fund invests. Each arrangement will remain in effect 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 Fee Waiver and Expense Limitation