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Risk Return Abstract rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Registrant Name dei_EntityRegistrantName JOHN HANCOCK VARIABLE INSURANCE TRUST
Prospectus Date rr_ProspectusDate Apr. 28, 2025
Active Bond Trust  
Risk Return Abstract rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading <span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial Narrow;font-size:24pt;">Active Bond Trust</span>
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading <span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial Narrow;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;">Investment objective</span>
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock To seek income and capital appreciation.
Expense [Heading] rr_ExpenseHeading <span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial Narrow;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;">Fees and expenses</span>
Expense Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the fund. The fees and expenses do not reflect fees and expenses of any variable insurance or variable annuities contract that may use the fund as its underlying investment option and would be higher if they did.
Operating Expenses Caption [Text] rr_OperatingExpensesCaption <span style="font-family:Arial Narrow;font-size:8pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0.0pt;">Annual fund operating expenses (%) </span><span style="font-family:Arial Narrow;font-size:8pt;margin-left:0.0pt;">(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)</span>
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination <span style="font-family:Arial Narrow;font-size:8pt;">July 31, 2026</span>
Portfolio Turnover [Heading] rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading <span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial Narrow;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;">Portfolio turnover</span>
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block] rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund’s performance. During its most recent fiscal year, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 111% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 111.00%
Expense Example [Heading] rr_ExpenseExampleHeading <span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial Narrow;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;">Expense example</span>
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock The examples are intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The examples assume that $10,000 is invested in the fund for the periods indicated and then all shares are redeemed at the end of those periods. The examples also assume that the investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The expense example does not reflect fees and expenses of any variable insurance contract that may use the fund as its underlying investment option and would be higher if they did. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading] rr_StrategyHeading <span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial Narrow;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;">Principal investment strategies</span>
Strategy Narrative [Text Block] rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock Under normal market conditions, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in a diversified mix of debt securities and instruments. (The fund will provide written notice to shareholders at least 60 days prior to a change in its 80% investment policy.) The fund seeks to invest its assets in debt securities and instruments with an average duration of plus or minus one year of its benchmark, the Bloomberg  US Aggregate Bond Index, however, there is no limit on the fund’s average maturity. As part of its investment strategy, the fund may invest in mortgage-backed securities to a significant extent. Eligible investments include, but are not limited to: ●U.S. Treasury and agency securities; ●Asset-backed securities and mortgage-backed securities, both investment grade and below-investment grade, including mortgage pass-through securities, interest-only securities, commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”) and collateralized mortgage obligations (“CMOs”); ●Corporate bonds, both U.S. and foreign, and without any limit on credit quality; and ●Foreign government and agency securities. The fund may invest in asset-backed securities rated, at the time of purchase, less than A (but not rated lower than B by S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) or Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”), or a comparable rating by another Nationally Recognized Statistical Ratings Organization). The subadvisor uses proprietary research and economic and industry analysis to identify specific bonds, bond sectors and industries that are attractively priced. Because the fund is actively managed, it may have a higher than average portfolio turnover ratio, which may increase expenses and affect performance results. The foreign securities in which the fund invests may be denominated in U.S. dollars or foreign currency. Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC manages the fund with two investment teams, each of which employs its own investment approach and independently manages its portion of the fund. The fund is rebalanced periodically so that each team manages the following portions of the fund: 50%* Securitized Asset Team and 50%* Core / Core Plus Team * Percentages are approximate. Since the fund is only rebalanced periodically, the actual portion of the fund managed by each team will vary. This allocation methodology may change in the future. Securitized Asset Team The Securitized Asset Team uses a combination of proprietary research and quantitative tools and seeks to identify bonds and bond sectors that are attractively priced based upon market fundamentals and technical factors. The Securitized Asset Team opportunistically emphasizes bonds with yields in excess of U.S. Treasury securities. This portion of the fund normally has no more than 10% of its total assets in high yield bonds (“junk bonds”) and normally invests in foreign securities only if U.S. dollar-denominated. This portion of the fund normally has an average credit rating of “A” or “AA.” The Core / Core Plus Team The Core / Core Plus Team uses proprietary research to identify specific bond sectors, industries and bonds that are attractively priced. The team seeks to anticipate shifts in the business cycle, using economic and industry analysis to determine which sectors and industries might benefit over the next 12 months. This portion of the fund normally has no more than 25% of its total assets in high yield bonds (sometimes referred to as “junk bonds”) and may invest in both U.S. dollar-denominated and foreign currency-denominated foreign securities. This portion of the fund normally has an average credit rating of “A” or “AA.” Under normal circumstances, no more than 15% of the total assets of the portion of the fund managed by the Core / Core Plus Team will be invested in asset-backed securities rated lower than A by both rating agencies. The fund’s investment policies are based on credit ratings at the time of purchase. Use of Hedging and Other Strategic Transactions. The fund is authorized to use all of the various investment strategies referred to under “Additional Information About the Funds’ Principal Risks — Hedging, derivatives and other strategic transactions risk” including, but not limited to, U.S. Treasury futures and options, index derivatives, credit default swaps and forwards.
Risk [Heading] rr_RiskHeading <span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial Narrow;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;">Principal risks</span>
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading] rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading <span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial Narrow;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;">Past performance</span>
Performance Narrative [Text Block] rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock The following information illustrates the variability of the fund’s returns and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing changes in the fund’s performance from year to year and by showing how the fund’s average annual returns compared with a broad-based securities market index.Past performance does not indicate future results.All figures assume dividend reinvestment. The performance information below does not reflect fees and expenses of any variable insurance contract which may use JHVIT as its underlying investment option. If such fees and expenses had been reflected, performance would be lower.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text] rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns <span style="font-family:Arial Narrow;font-size:9pt;">The following information illustrates the variability of the fund’s returns and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing changes in the fund’s performance from year to year and by showing how the fund’s average annual returns compared with a broad-based securities market index.</span>
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text] rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture <span style="font-family:Arial Narrow;font-size:9pt;">Past performance does not indicate future results.</span>
Bar Chart [Heading] rr_BarChartHeading <span style="font-family:Arial Narrow;font-size:9pt;font-weight:bold;">Calendar year total returns (%)—Series NAV</span>
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block] rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock Best quarter:Q4 20237.14%Worst quarter:Q1 2022-6.02%
Performance Table Heading rr_PerformanceTableHeading <span style="font-family:Arial Narrow;font-size:8pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0.0pt;">Average annual total returns (%)—as of 12/31/2024</span>
Active Bond Trust | Risk Lose Money [Member]  
Risk Return Abstract rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk [Text Block] rr_RiskTextBlock Many factors affect performance, and fund shares will fluctuate in price, meaning you could lose money.
Active Bond Trust | Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Member]  
Risk Return Abstract rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk [Text Block] rr_RiskTextBlock An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.
Active Bond Trust | Changing Distribution Levels Risk [Member]  
Risk Return Abstract rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk [Text Block] rr_RiskTextBlock Changing distribution levels risk.  The fund may cease or reduce the level of its distribution if income or dividends paid from its investments declines.
Active Bond Trust | Credit And Counterparty Risk [Member]  
Risk Return Abstract rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk [Text Block] rr_RiskTextBlock Credit and counterparty risk.  The issuer or guarantor of a fixed-income security, the counterparty to an over-the-counter derivatives contract, or a borrower of fund securities may not make timely payments or otherwise honor its obligations. U.S. government securities are subject to varying degrees of credit risk depending upon the nature of their support. A downgrade or default affecting any of the fund’s securities could affect the fund’s performance.
Active Bond Trust | Economic And Market Events Risk [Member]  
Risk Return Abstract rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk [Text Block] rr_RiskTextBlock Economic and market events risk.  Events in the U.S. and global financial markets, including actions taken by the U.S. Federal Reserve or foreign central banks to stimulate or stabilize economic growth, may at times result in unusually high market volatility, which could negatively impact performance. Reduced liquidity in credit and fixed-income markets could adversely affect issuers worldwide. Banks and financial services companies could suffer losses if interest rates rise or economic conditions deteriorate.
Active Bond Trust | Fixed Income Securities Risk [Member]  
Risk Return Abstract rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk [Text Block] rr_RiskTextBlock Fixed-income securities risk.  A rise in interest rates typically causes bond prices to fall. The longer the average maturity or duration of the bonds held by a fund, the more sensitive it will likely be to interest-rate fluctuations. An issuer may not make all interest payments or repay all or any of the principal borrowed. Changes in a security’s credit quality may adversely affect fund performance.
Active Bond Trust | Foreign Securities Risk [Member]  
Risk Return Abstract rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk [Text Block] rr_RiskTextBlock Foreign securities risk.  Less information may be publicly available regarding foreign issuers, including foreign government issuers. Foreign securities may be subject to foreign taxes and may be more volatile than U.S. securities. Currency fluctuations and political and economic developments may adversely impact the value of foreign securities.
Active Bond Trust | Hedging Derivatives And Other Strategic Transactions Risk [Member]  
Risk Return Abstract rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk [Text Block] rr_RiskTextBlock Hedging, derivatives, and other strategic transactions risk.  Hedging, derivatives, and other strategic transactions may increase a fund’s volatility and could produce disproportionate losses, potentially more than the fund’s principal investment. Risks of these transactions are different from and possibly greater than risks of investing directly in securities and other traditional instruments. Under certain market conditions, derivatives could become harder to value or sell and may become subject to liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions). Derivatives and other strategic transactions that the fund intends to utilize include: foreign currency forward contracts, futures contracts, options, credit default swaps, foreign currency swaps, interest-rate swaps, swaps, swaptions, equity-linked notes (equity-linked notes generally reflect the risks associates with their underlying securities, depends on the credit of the note's issuer, may be privately placed, and may have a limited secondary market), inverse floating-rate securities, reverse repurchase agreements, total return swaps, and options on futures. Foreign currency forward contracts, futures contracts, options, and swaps generally are subject to counterparty risk. In addition, swaps may be subject to interest-rate and settlement risk, and the risk of default of the underlying reference obligation. Derivatives associated with foreign currency transactions are subject to currency risk. An event of default or insolvency of the counterparty to a reverse repurchase agreement could result in delays or restrictions with respect to the fund's ability to dispose of the underlying securities, in addition, a reverse repurchase agreement may be considered a form of leverage and may, therefore, increase fluctuations in the fund's net asset value per share (NAV).
Active Bond Trust | High Portfolio Turnover Risk [Member]  
Risk Return Abstract rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk [Text Block] rr_RiskTextBlock High portfolio turnover risk.  Trading securities actively and frequently can increase transaction costs (thus lowering performance) and taxable distributions.
Active Bond Trust | Liquidity Risk [Member]  
Risk Return Abstract rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk [Text Block] rr_RiskTextBlock Liquidity risk.  The extent (if at all) to which a security may be sold or a derivative position closed without negatively impacting its market value may be impaired by reduced market activity or participation, legal restrictions, or other economic and market impediments. Liquidity risk may be magnified in rising interest rate environments due to higher than normal redemption rates. Widespread selling of fixed-income securities to satisfy redemptions during periods of reduced demand may adversely impact the price or salability of such securities. Periods of heavy redemption could cause the fund to sell assets at a loss or depressed value, which could negatively affect performance. Redemption risk is heightened during periods of declining or illiquid markets.
Active Bond Trust | Lower Rated And High Yield Fixed Income Securities Risk [Member]  
Risk Return Abstract rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk [Text Block] rr_RiskTextBlock Lower-rated and high-yield fixed-income securities risk.  Lower-rated and high-yield fixed-income securities (junk bonds) are subject to greater credit quality risk, risk of default, and price volatility than higher-rated fixed-income securities, may be considered speculative, and can be difficult to resell.
Active Bond Trust | Mortgage Backed And Asset Backed Securities Risk [Member]  
Risk Return Abstract rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk [Text Block] rr_RiskTextBlock Mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities risk.  Mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities are subject to different combinations of prepayment, extension, interest-rate, and other market risks. Factors that impact the value of these securities include interest rate changes, the reliability of available information, credit quality or enhancement, and market perception.
Active Bond Trust | Operational And Cybersecurity Risk [Member]  
Risk Return Abstract rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk [Text Block] rr_RiskTextBlock Operational and cybersecurity risk.  Cybersecurity breaches may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to fund assets, customer data, or proprietary information, or cause a fund or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality. Similar incidents affecting issuers of a fund’s securities may negatively impact performance. Operational risk may arise from human error, error by third parties, communication errors, or technology failures, among other causes.
Active Bond Trust | Sector Risk [Member]  
Risk Return Abstract rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk [Text Block] rr_RiskTextBlock Sector risk.  When a fund focuses its investments in certain sectors of the economy, its performance may be driven largely by sector performance and could fluctuate more widely than if the fund were invested more evenly across sectors.
Active Bond Trust | US Government Agency Obligations Risk [Member]  
Risk Return Abstract rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk [Text Block] rr_RiskTextBlock U.S. government agency obligations risk.  U.S. government-sponsored entities such as Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and the Federal Home Loan Banks, although chartered or sponsored by Congress, are not funded by congressional appropriations and the debt securities that they issue are neither guaranteed nor issued by the U.S. government. Such debt securities are subject to the risk of default on the payment of interest and/or principal, similar to the debt securities of private issuers. The maximum potential liability of the issuers of some U.S. government obligations may greatly exceed their current resources, including any legal right to support from the U.S. government. Although the U.S. government has provided financial support to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the past, there can be no assurance that it will support these or other government-sponsored entities in the future.
Active Bond Trust | US Treasury Obligations Risk [Member]  
Risk Return Abstract rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk [Text Block] rr_RiskTextBlock U.S. Treasury obligations risk.  The market value of direct obligations of the U.S. Treasury may vary due to changes in interest rates. In addition, changes to the financial condition or credit rating of the U.S. government may cause the value of the fund’s investments in obligations issued by the U.S. Treasury to decline.
Active Bond Trust | Series I  
Risk Return Abstract rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Management fee rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.60%
Distribution and service (Rule 12b-1) fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 0.05%
Other expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.06%
Total annual fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.71%
Contractual expense reimbursement rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.01%) [1]
Total annual fund operating expenses after expense reimbursements rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.70%
1 year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 72
3 years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 226
5 years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 394
10 years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 882
1 year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 2.25%
5 year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 0.28%
10 year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 1.90%
Active Bond Trust | Series II  
Risk Return Abstract rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Management fee rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.60%
Distribution and service (Rule 12b-1) fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 0.25%
Other expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.06%
Total annual fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.91%
Contractual expense reimbursement rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.01%) [1]
Total annual fund operating expenses after expense reimbursements rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.90%
1 year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 92
3 years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 289
5 years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 503
10 years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 1,119
1 year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 2.06%
5 year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 0.08%
10 year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 1.69%
Active Bond Trust | NAV  
Risk Return Abstract rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Management fee rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.60%
Distribution and service (Rule 12b-1) fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none
Other expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.06%
Total annual fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.66%
Contractual expense reimbursement rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.01%) [1]
Total annual fund operating expenses after expense reimbursements rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.65%
1 year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 66
3 years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 210
5 years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 367
10 years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 822
2015 rr_AnnualReturn2015 0.12%
2016 rr_AnnualReturn2016 4.50%
2017 rr_AnnualReturn2017 4.89%
2018 rr_AnnualReturn2018 (0.55%)
2019 rr_AnnualReturn2019 9.30%
2020 rr_AnnualReturn2020 8.73%
2021 rr_AnnualReturn2021 (0.42%)
2022 rr_AnnualReturn2022 (13.78%)
2023 rr_AnnualReturn2023 6.48%
2024 rr_AnnualReturn2024 2.16%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel <span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial Narrow;font-size:8pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0.0pt;">Best quarter:</span>
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Dec. 31, 2023
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 7.14%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel <span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial Narrow;font-size:8pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0.0pt;">Worst quarter:</span>
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Mar. 31, 2022
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (6.02%)
1 year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 2.16%
5 year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 0.31%
10 year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 1.93%
Active Bond Trust | Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)  
Risk Return Abstract rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 1.25%
5 year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 (0.33%)
10 year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 1.35%
[1] The advisor contractually agrees to waive a portion of its management fee and/or reimburse expenses for the fund and certain other John Hancock funds according to an asset level breakpoint schedule that is based on the aggregate net assets of all the funds participating in the waiver or reimbursement, including the fund (the participating portfolios). This waiver equals, on an annualized basis, 0.0100% of that portion of the aggregate net assets of all the participating portfolios that exceeds $75 billion but is less than or equal to $125 billion; 0.0125% of that portion of the aggregate net assets of all the participating portfolios that exceeds $125 billion but is less than or equal to $150 billion; 0.0150% of that portion of the aggregate net assets of all the participating portfolios that exceeds $150 billion but is less than or equal to $175 billion; 0.0175% of that portion of the aggregate net assets of all the participating portfolios that exceeds $175 billion but is less than or equal to $200 billion; 0.0200% of that portion of the aggregate net assets of all the participating portfolios that exceeds $200 billion but is less than or equal to $225 billion; and 0.0225% of that portion of the aggregate net assets of all the participating portfolios that exceeds $225 billion. The amount of the reimbursement is calculated daily and allocated among all the participating portfolios in proportion to the daily net assets of each participating portfolio. During its most recent fiscal year, the fund’s reimbursement amounted to 0.01% of the fund’s average daily net assets. This agreement expires on July 31, 2026, unless renewed by mutual agreement of the fund and the advisor based upon a determination that this is appropriate under the circumstances at that time.