Label	Element	Value
Prospectus:	rr_ProspectusTable
Document Type	dei_DocumentType	497
Document Period End Date	dei_DocumentPeriodEndDate	Dec. 31, 2016
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	JOHN HANCOCK VARIABLE INSURANCE TRUST
Central Index Key	dei_EntityCentralIndexKey	0000756913
Amendment Flag	dei_AmendmentFlag	false
Document Creation Date	dei_DocumentCreationDate	Jun. 30, 2017
Document Effective Date	dei_DocumentEffectiveDate	Jul. 03, 2017
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	May 01, 2017