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Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Registrant Name dei_EntityRegistrantName AIM VARIABLE INSURANCE FUNDS (INVESCO VARIABLE INSURANCE FUNDS)
Prospectus Date rr_ProspectusDate Apr. 30, 2012
Series II shares | Invesco V.I. Government Securities Fund
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading Fund Summary - Invesco V.I. Government Securities Fund - Series II shares
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading Investment Objective(s)
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock The Fund’s investment objective is total return, comprised of current income and capital appreciation.
Expense [Heading] rr_ExpenseHeading Fees and Expenses of the Fund
Expense Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock This table describes the fees and expenses that are incurred, directly or indirectly, when a variable product owner buys, holds, or redeems interest in an insurance company separate account that invests in the Series II shares of the Fund but does not represent the effect of any fees or other expenses assessed in connection with your variable product, and if it did, expenses would be higher.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text] rr_ShareholderFeesCaption Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
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, 2013
Portfolio Turnover [Heading] rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading Portfolio Turnover.
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 the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 85% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 85.00%
Expense Example [Heading] rr_ExpenseExampleHeading 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 represent the effect of any fees or expenses assessed in connection with your variable product, and if it did, expenses would be higher.

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your 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.

Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Strategy [Heading] rr_StrategyHeading Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund
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) in debt securities issued, guaranteed or otherwise backed by the U.S. Government or its agencies and instrumentalities. These securities include: (1) U.S. Treasury obligations and (2) obligations issued or guaranteed by U.S. Government agencies and instrumentalities and supported by (a) the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury, (b) the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury, or (c) the credit of the agency or instrumentality. In complying with the 80% investment requirement, the Fund may include synthetic securities that have economic characteristics similar to the Fund’s direct investments that are counted toward the 80% investment requirement. The principal type of fixed income securities purchased by the Fund are U.S. Treasury and agency holdings, mortgage-backed securities consisting of interests in underlying mortgages with maturities of up to thirty years, bullet maturity debt bonds with stated maturity date and callable bonds that can be redeemed by the issuer prior to their stated maturity date. The Fund may also enter into reverse repurchase agreements. The Fund often uses U.S. Treasury futures and dollar rolls transactions to gain exposure to the U.S. Treasury and agency mortgage-backed security markets while deploying Fund assets in other securities.

The Fund can invest in derivatives, including interest rate futures.

The Fund uses interest rate futures to manage unwanted yield curve and aggregate duration exposures created by other investment decisions. These instruments may also be used to replicate cash investment strategies more efficiently. An interest rate futures contract is an exchange-traded contract in which the specified underlying security is either an interest-bearing fixed income security or an inter-bank deposit. Interest rate futures are based off an underlying security which is a debt obligation and moves in value as interest rates change.

The Fund invests in securities of all maturities, but will maintain a weighted average effective maturity for the portfolio of between three and ten years.

The portfolio managers utilize an appropriate benchmark index in structuring the portfolio. The portfolio managers then decide on risk factors to use in managing the Fund relative to that benchmark. In doing so, the portfolio managers consider recommendations from a team of independent specialists in positioning the Fund to generate alpha (specific factors affecting the return on investments in excess of the benchmark). The portfolio managers generally rely upon a different team of specialists for trade execution and for assistance in determining the most efficient way (in terms of cost-efficiency and selection) to implement those recommendations. Although a variety of specialists provide input in the management of the Fund, the portfolio managers retain responsibility for ensuring the Fund is positioned appropriately in terms of risk exposures and position sizes. The portfolio managers rely on the specialists for adjusting the Fund’s risk exposures and security selection. Decisions to purchase or sell securities will typically depend on economic fundamentals, credit-related fundamentals, market supply and demand dynamics, market dislocations, and situation-specific opportunities. The purchase and sale of securities may be related to a decision to alter the Fund’s macro risk exposure (e.g., duration, yield, curve positioning, sector exposure), need to limit or reduce the Fund’s exposure to a particular security or issuer, degradation of an issuer’s credit quality, or general liquidity needs of the Fund.

Risk [Heading] rr_RiskHeading Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
Risk Narrative [Text Block] rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

As with any mutual fund investment, loss of money is a risk of investing. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit in a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. The risks associated with an investment in the Fund can increase during times of significant market volatility. The principal risks of investing in the Fund are:

Derivatives Risk. The performance of derivative instruments is tied to the performance of an underlying currency, security, index or other instrument. In addition to risks relating to their underlying instruments, the use of derivatives may include other, possibly greater, risks. Derivatives involve costs, may be volatile, and may involve a small initial investment relative to the risk assumed. Risks associated with the use of derivatives may include counterparty, leverage, correlation, liquidity, tax, market, interest rate and management risks. Derivatives may also be more difficult to purchase, sell or value than other investments. The Fund may lose more than the cash amount invested on investments in derivatives. Investors should bear in mind that, while the Fund intends to use derivative strategies, it is not obligated to actively engage in these transactions, generally or in any particular kind of derivative, if the investment manager elects not to do so due to availability, cost, market conditions or other factors.

Dollar Roll Transactions Risk. Dollar roll transactions involve the risk that the market value and yield of the securities retained by the Fund may decline below the price of the mortgage-related securities sold by the Fund that it is obligated to repurchase.

Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk refers to the risk that bond prices generally fall as interest rates rise; conversely, bond prices generally rise as interest rates fall. Specific bonds differ in their sensitivity to changes in interest rates depending on their individual characteristics, including duration.

Management Risk. The investment techniques and risk analysis used by the Fund’s portfolio managers may not produce the desired results.

Market Risk. The prices of and the income generated by the Fund’s securities may decline in response to, among other things, investor sentiment, general economic and market conditions, regional or global instability, and currency and interest rate fluctuations.

Mortgage- and Asset-Backed Securities Risk. The Fund may invest in mortgage- and asset-backed securities that are subject to prepayment or call risk, which is the risk that the borrower’s payments may be received earlier or later than expected due to changes in prepayment rates on underlying loans. Faster prepayments often happen when interest rates are falling. As a result, the Fund may reinvest these early payments at lower interest rates, thereby reducing the Fund’s income. Conversely, when interest rates rise, prepayments may happen more slowly, causing the security to lengthen in duration. Longer duration securities tend to be more volatile. Securities may be prepaid at a price less than the original purchase value. An unexpectedly high rate of defaults on the mortgages held by a mortgage pool may adversely affect the value of mortgage-backed securities and could result in losses to the Fund. The risk of such defaults is generally higher in the case of mortgage pools that include subprime mortgages. Subprime mortgages refer to loans made to borrowers with weakened credit histories or with lower capacity to make timely payments on their mortgages.

Reinvestment Risk. Reinvestment risk is the risk that a bond’s cash flows (coupon income and principal repayment) will be reinvested at an interest rate below that on the original bond.

Reverse Repurchase Agreement Risk. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the market value of securities to be repurchased may decline below the repurchase price or that the other party may default on its obligation, resulting in delays, additional costs or the restriction of proceeds from the sale.

Synthetic Securities Risk. Fluctuations in the values of synthetic securities may not correlate perfectly with the instruments they are designed to replicate. Synthetic securities may be subject to interest rate changes, market price fluctuations, counterparty risk and liquidity risk.

U.S. Government Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest in obligations issued by U.S. Government agencies and instrumentalities that may receive varying levels of support from the government, which could affect the Fund’s ability to recover should they default.

Risk Lose Money [Text] rr_RiskLoseMoney As with any mutual fund investment, loss of money is a risk of investing.
Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text] rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution An investment in the Fund is not a deposit in a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading] rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading Performance Information
Performance Narrative [Text Block] rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock The bar chart and performance table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows changes in the performance of the Fund from year to year as of December 31. All performance shown assumes the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains and the effect of the Fund’s expenses. The performance table compares the Fund’s performance to that of a broad-based securities market benchmark, a style specific benchmark and a peer group benchmark with investment objectives and strategies similar to the Fund. The performance table below does not reflect charges assessed in connection with your variable product; if it did, the performance shown would be lower. The Fund’s past performance is not necessarily an indication of its future performance. Updated performance information is available on the Fund’s Web site at www.invesco.com/us. Series I shares are not offered by this prospectus. The Series I shares and Series II shares invest in the same portfolio of securities and will have substantially similar performance, except to the extent that the expenses borne by each share class differ. Series II shares have higher expenses (and therefore lower performance) resulting from its Rule 12b-1 plan, which provides for a maximum fee equal to an annual rate of 0.25% (expressed as a percentage of average daily net assets of the Fund).
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text] rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns The bar chart and performance table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows changes in the performance of the Fund from year to year as of December 31. All performance shown assumes the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains and the effect of the Fund’s expenses. The performance table compares the Fund’s performance to that of a broad-based securities market benchmark, a style specific benchmark and a peer group benchmark with investment objectives and strategies similar to the Fund.
Performance Availability Website Address [Text] rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress www.invesco.com/us
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text] rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture The Fund’s past performance is not necessarily an indication of its future performance.
Bar Chart [Heading] rr_BarChartHeading Annual Total Returns
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text] rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads The performance table below does not reflect charges assessed in connection with your variable product; if it did, the performance shown would be lower.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block] rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock Best Quarter (ended December 31, 2008): 7.33%

Worst Quarter (ended June 30, 2009): -2.08%

Performance Table Heading rr_PerformanceTableHeading Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2011)
Series II shares | Invesco V.I. Government Securities Fund | Class: Series II shares
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice   
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of original purchase price or redemption proceeds, whichever is less) rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOther   
Management Fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.46%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 0.25%
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.29%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 1.00%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets 0.05% [1]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.95%
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 97
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 313
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 548
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 1,220
2002 rr_AnnualReturn2002 9.25%
2003 rr_AnnualReturn2003 0.93%
2004 rr_AnnualReturn2004 2.27%
2005 rr_AnnualReturn2005 1.41%
2006 rr_AnnualReturn2006 3.28%
2007 rr_AnnualReturn2007 6.11%
2008 rr_AnnualReturn2008 11.98%
2009 rr_AnnualReturn2009 (0.26%)
2010 rr_AnnualReturn2010 5.10%
2011 rr_AnnualReturn2011 7.63%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel Best Quarter
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Dec. 31, 2008
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 7.33%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel Worst Quarter
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Jun. 30, 2009
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (2.08%)
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 7.63%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 6.04%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 4.70%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Sep. 19, 2001
Series II shares | Invesco V.I. Government Securities Fund | Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes)
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 7.84%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 6.50%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 5.78%
Series II shares | Invesco V.I. Government Securities Fund | Barclays U.S. Government Index (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes)
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 9.02%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 6.56%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 5.59%
Series II shares | Invesco V.I. Government Securities Fund | Lipper VUF General U.S. Government Funds Index
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 9.17%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 6.20%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 5.28%
[1] The Adviser has contractually agreed, through at least April 30, 2013, to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses of Series II shares to the extent necessary to limit Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement (excluding certain items discussed below) of Series II shares to 0.95% of average daily net assets. In determining the Adviser's obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account, and could cause the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement to exceed the number reflected above: (i) interest; (ii) taxes; (iii) dividend expense on short sales; (iv) extraordinary or non-routine items, including litigation expenses; (v) expenses that the Fund has incurred but did not actually pay because of an expense offset arrangement. Unless the Board of Trustees and Invesco Advisers, Inc. mutually agree to amend or continue the fee waiver agreement, it will terminate on April 30, 2013.