Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Apr. 30, 2012
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	Ivy Funds Variable Insurance Portfolios
Ivy Funds VIP Global Bond
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	Ivy Funds VIP Global Bond
Objective [Heading]	rr_ObjectiveHeading	Objectives
Objective, Primary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	To seek to provide a high level of current income.
Objective, Secondary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectiveSecondaryTextBlock	Capital appreciation is a secondary objective.
Expense [Heading]	rr_ExpenseHeading	Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]	rr_ShareholderFeesCaption	Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text]	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Portfolio Turnover [Heading]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock	The Portfolio bears transaction costs, such as spreads between bid and asked prices, 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 portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 46% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate	rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate	46.00%
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 shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading]	rr_StrategyHeading	Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	Ivy Funds VIP Global Bond seeks to achieve its objectives by investing, during normal market conditions, at least 80% of its net assets in a diversified portfolio of bonds of foreign and U.S. issuers. The Portfolio may invest in securities issued by foreign or U.S. governments and in securities, including loan participations and other loan instruments (loan participations), issued by foreign or U.S. companies of any size, including those in emerging markets. The Portfolio may invest up to 100% of its total assets in securities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. The Portfolio may invest in bonds of any maturity. Although the Portfolio invests, primarily, in investment grade securities, it may invest up to 100% of its total assets in non-investment grade bonds, commonly called junk bonds, primarily of foreign issuers, that include bonds rated BB+ or lower by Standard & Poor’s, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (S&P), or comparably rated by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) or, if unrated, determined by Waddell & Reed Investment Management Company (WRIMCO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, to be of comparable quality. The Portfolio will only invest in non-investment grade bonds if WRIMCO deems the risks to be consistent with the Portfolio’s objectives. The Portfolio also may invest in equity securities of foreign and U.S. issuers to achieve income and/or its secondary objective of capital appreciation. Many companies have diverse operations, with products or services in foreign markets. Therefore, the Portfolio will have an indirect exposure to foreign markets through investments in these companies. WRIMCO may look at a number of factors in selecting securities for the Portfolio’s holdings including: identifying fundamental global themes; country analysis (economic, legislative/judicial and demographic trends); credit analysis of the issuer (financial strength, cash flow, balance sheet, management, strategy and accounting); the maturity, quality, and denomination (U.S. dollar, euro, yen) of the issue; domicile and market share of the issuer; and analysis of the issuer’s profit history through various economic cycles. Generally, in determining whether to sell a debt security, WRIMCO continues to analyze the factors considered for buying the security. WRIMCO also considers its assumptions regarding a company, an industry, the markets, an individual economy and/or the global economy. WRIMCO may sell a security to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.
Risk [Heading]	rr_RiskHeading	Principal Investment Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block]	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objectives. These include: Company Risk. A company may perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company. Credit Risk. An issuer of a fixed-income obligation may not make payments on the obligation when due or may default on its obligation. Emerging Market Risk. Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristic of more developed countries. Foreign Currency Risk. Foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies. The value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations. Foreign Market Risk. The securities of many companies may have significant exposure to foreign markets as a result of the company’s products or services in foreign markets so that its domicile and/or the markets in which its securities trade may not be reflective of its sources of revenue. Such securities would be subject to some of the same risks as an investment in foreign securities, including the risk that political and economic events unique to a country or region will adversely affect those markets in which the company’s products or services are sold. Foreign Securities Risk. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, and political considerations that may not be associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending on the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs; adverse foreign tax consequences; and settlement delays. In particular, sovereign debt instruments are subject to the risk that a government or agency issuing the debt may be unable to pay interest and/or repay principal due to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves or political concerns. In such instance, the Portfolio may have limited recourse against the issuing government or agency. Interest Rate Risk. A rise in interest rates may cause a decline in the value of the Portfolio’s securities, especially securities with longer maturities. A decline in interest rates may cause the Portfolio to experience a decline in its income. Loan Participation Risk. In addition to the risks typically associated with fixed-income securities, loan participations carry other risks, including the risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary. Loan participations may be unsecured or not fully collateralized, may be subject to restrictions on resale and sometimes trade infrequently on the secondary market. Low-rated Securities Risk. In general, low-rated debt securities (commonly referred to as “high yield” or “junk” bonds) offer higher yields due to the increased risk that the issuer will be unable to meet its obligations on interest or principal payments at the time called for by the debt instrument. For this reason, these securities are considered speculative and could significantly weaken the Portfolio’s returns. In adverse economic or other circumstances, issuers of these low-rated securities and obligations are more likely to have difficulty making principal and interest payments than issuers of higher-rated securities and obligations. Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on WRIMCO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Market Risk. Adverse market conditions, sometimes in response to general economic or industry news, may cause the prices of the Portfolio’s holdings to fall as part of a broad market decline. The financial crisis in the U.S. and foreign economies over the past several years, including the European sovereign debt crisis, has resulted, and may continue to result, in an unusually high degree of volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign, and in the net asset values (NAVs) of many mutual funds, including to some extent the Portfolio. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances have also decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain unanticipated events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, can have a dramatic adverse effect on securities held by the Portfolio. Reinvestment Risk. A decline in interest rates may cause issuers to prepay higher-yielding debt securities held by the Portfolio, resulting in the Portfolio reinvesting in securities with lower yields, which may cause a decline in its income. Small Company Risk. Securities of small capitalization companies are subject to greater price volatility, lower trading volume and less liquidity due to, among other things, such companies’ small size, limited product lines, limited access to financing sources and limited management depth. In addition, the frequency and volume of trading of such securities may be less than is typical of larger companies, making them subject to wider price fluctuations. In some cases, there could be difficulties in selling securities of small capitalization companies at the desired time.
Risk Lose Money [Text]	rr_RiskLoseMoney	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio's shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block]	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows the performance for the last calendar year for the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for the Portfolio and also compares the performance with those of an index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to those of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results. Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower. During the periods for which performance is shown, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek, as a primary objective, a high level of current income and, as a secondary objective, capital growth when consistent with its primary objective. Effective as of the date of this Prospectus, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide a high level of current income and capital appreciation is a secondary objective. The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 888.WADDELL for the Portfolio’s updated performance.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]	rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows the performance for the last calendar year for the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for the Portfolio and also compares the performance with those of an index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to those of the Portfolio).
Performance Availability Phone [Text]	rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone	888.WADDELL
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]	rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture	The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading]	rr_BarChartHeading	Chart of Year-by-Year Returns as of December 31 each year
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]	rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock	In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 2.64% (the fourth quarter of 2011) and the lowest quarterly return was -2.91% (the third quarter of 2011).
Performance Table Heading	rr_PerformanceTableHeading	Average Annual Total Returns as of December 31, 2011
Performance Table Market Index Changed	rr_PerformanceTableMarketIndexChanged	The Portfolio’s benchmark changed from Barclays Capital U.S. Dollar-Denominated Universal Index, effective July 2011. WRIMCO believes that the Barclays Capital Multiverse Index provides a better benchmark for the Portfolio in light of the types of securities in which the Portfolio invests. Both indexes will be presented in this year’s prospectus for comparison purposes.
Ivy Funds VIP Global Bond | Ivy Funds VIP Global Bond
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_MaximumAccountFee
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.62%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	0.25%
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.56%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	1.43%
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	146
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	452
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	782
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,713
2011	rr_AnnualReturn2011	0.08%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel	highest quarterly return
Highest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate	Dec. 31, 2011
Highest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn	2.64%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel	lowest quarterly return
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate	Sep. 30, 2011
Lowest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn	(2.91%)
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	0.08%
Life of Portfolio	rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception	(0.02%)
Inception Date	rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate	Aug. 23, 2010
Barclays Capital U.S. Dollar-Denominated Universal Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 31, 2010.) | Ivy Funds VIP Global Bond
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	7.40%
Life of Portfolio	rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception	4.93%
Inception Date	rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate	Aug. 31, 2010
Barclays Capital Multiverse Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 31, 2010.) | Ivy Funds VIP Global Bond
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	5.55%	[1]
Life of Portfolio	rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception	5.04%	[1]
Inception Date	rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate	Aug. 31, 2010	[1]
Lipper Variable Annuity Global Income Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses) (Index comparison begins on August 31, 2010.) | Ivy Funds VIP Global Bond
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	3.95%
Life of Portfolio	rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception	4.21%
Inception Date	rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate	Aug. 31, 2010

[1] (The Portfolio's benchmark changed from Barclays Capital U.S. Dollar-Denominated Universal Index, effective July 2011. WRIMCO believes that the Barclays Capital Multiverse Index provides a better benchmark for the Portfolio in light of the types of securities in which the Portfolio invests. Both indexes will be presented in this year's prospectus for comparison purposes.)